Curses!
by dark mirth
Summary: An AU version of the CCS story with body switching, parallel dimensions, and lots of cameos from other animes... SS ET Please RR. On Hiatus.
1. Down the Rabbit Hole

DM: Well here's a fic that just spawned itself

DM: Well here's a fic that just spawned itself. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. I also don't own Ranma ½ or anything else that this fic reminds you of! Any songs/books/whatevers I use will be specifically referenced, like _Through the Looking Glass _and _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ by Lewis Carroll.

**Curses!**

**Chapter One**

**Down the Rabbit Hole**

As the fasten seatbelt sign came on again, a teenaged girl began to bounce in her seat excitedly. She brushed her auburn bangs out of her eyes, only to have them fall in again. The sea had begun to give way to land and she could see the brightly colored flags on the piers. The girl's green eyes sparkled as she watched the ground eagerly. Adjusting her navy blue school uniform nervously, she was too distracted to notice the flight attendant folding up her tray table for her. Her classmates, covering about ten rows in the center of the plane, began chattering excitedly around her as the plane began to descend.

She pointed out the window frantically and grabbed the sleeve of the girl sitting next to her. The girl was sitting and calmly watching a group of girls giggling.

"Tomoyo, look! It's China! We're almost there!"

Her friend, a pale girl with violet hair and eyes, sighed somewhat exasperatedly, and nodded. She looked disappointedly at her clothes.

_Why do we have to wear our uniforms even on trips?_ she wondered. It was spring, the time for fashions to change, and she had been looking forward to a fashionable field trip.

"Sakura, from the way you're acting, it looks like it's your first time on an airplane!"

Sakura blushed and stopped bouncing. She went back to staring avidly out the window at the landscape that was growing ever larger.

The junior class was on a field trip, the first of the year, to visit the ancient gardens of the Ming Dynasty for history class. It was a trip much looked forward to by the students, because they missed their other classes for three days.

"I can't wait!" Sakura squealed again.

Insert Line here

A boy with messy brown hair trudged into his school, sighing all the way. He took his seat next to a boy with blue hair and eyes who wore glasses. The campus glowed bright green after the first spring rain replenished the various bushes surrounding it.

"Morning, Xiao Lang," said the blue haired boy, smiling warmly. Xiao Lang only grunted. More students were entering the classroom, followed by the teacher.

The seats were all arranged in neat rows, but Xiao Lang felt his eyebrow twitch as his neighbor knocked his slightly out of line.

The teacher began writing things like meeting points on the board, but our messy haired hero paid no mind as he noted with extreme contempt and envy that a few of his classmates were wearing their summer uniforms already, while he was still in his winter one. He hated the cold and had never been able to handle it well. It was also rather bothersome that they weren't all the same.

_Isn't that the point of a uniform?_ He thought.

"All right class," he called out, commanding their attention, "Bring me your Field Trip permission slips! We leave in twenty minutes for the gardens!"

The class collectively cheered, with the exception of Xiao Lang, who only groaned. His amber eyes locked on the teacher with intense dislike. Coming to school in the afternoon was the pits, but at least they hadn't had classes that day.

"This trip is so freaking stupid," he muttered in Japanese. His Chinese classmates did not notice, but the boy with blue hair chuckled.

"Oh Syaoran," he responded in Japanese, "why so glum? It's just a field trip."

"You wouldn't understand, Eriol," Syaoran said, turning away, "I just have a bad feeling about this." Unseen by Syaoran, Eriol's glasses flashed ominously

Insert Line here

Sakura was skipping happily along a path between two large bushes of purple flowers that hugged the cute little path. A small river flowed on either side of the stone walkway, making a happy gurgling noise and running between the cracks in the stones. The whole garden had a very zen feeling to it.

"Oh wow! Look at this! And this! And this!" Sakura chatted excitedly, dragging Tomoyo from ancient relic to statue to funny looking flower. The other girl smiled.

"You're so cute, Sakura, the way you get excited about everything," she said, angling her video camera to get a better shot of her friend.

"Ooh! What is _that_?"

Sakura made a beeline for a large fountain that was surrounded by tourists and students from Hong Kong on their own field trip. She could only see the top, a bronze statue of a moon and a sun linked together and spewing rather dirty looking water from a common vertex.

"Excuse me, excuse me," she said happily in Chinese as she pushed her way to the front. Tomoyo hung around on the edge of the crowd looking up amusedly at the ornate and beautiful fountain. _How gaudy,_ she thought, smirking.

"This fountain is cursed!" a fat Chinese man was telling the crowd, repeating it several times in different languages. He kept his eyes on a gullible (and fat) group of American tourists, who snapped pictures for no reason as he spoke. Sakura's eyes widened as she stared at her reflection in the water.

"Really?" she asked the man, looking like a five year old as she tugged on his sleeve.

"No!" came a shout from the crowd. A boy with unruly brown hair pushed his way to the front, smirking at Sakura.

"There's no such thing as magic," he said, patronizingly, attempting to stare her down though she was nearly as tall as he was.

"Don't talk to me that way!" Sakura shot back, angry at being treated like a child.

"I'll talk to you however I want," he said, taking a step closer, "kid."

"Don't call me that, you jerk!" she shouted, drawing herself up to full height. They were nose to nose.

People were watching the show. The fat Chinese tour guide was looking between the two of them, excitement clearly etched on his face.

"You're just a stupid little girl who believes in magic! You probably still believe in the tooth fairy!" he shouted.

"And you're a meanie-turd-face who thinks he knows everything!" she shot back, pulling down her lower eyelid and sticking her tongue out at him, a way of saying "F you" in Japan.

"Why you stupid brat!" he yelled, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Let go of me you arrogant pervert!" she struggled against him, and together they toppled into the fountain.

"Go die!" they shouted as they looked in each other's eyes.

Sakura blinked, and then rubbed her eyes. She was looking into her _own_ eyes. Green ones. The Sakura on top of her looked utterly confused.

"What did you _do_? Oh no, this very bad!" the fat man rang out, though the expression on his face clearly said that he was enjoying himself. He was now solely speaking in English as the Americans pushed their way to the front and made a ring around the three.

"What?" No one in the crowd knew that anything was different.

Sakura found her voice. "You're me!" they shouted at the same time. "No!"

Sakura looked down. She was…she was… that stupid boy!

"I hate you!" they both yelled.

The boy grabbed her by the shoulders and began shaking her.

"Get out of my body!" he yelled, his voice coming out shrill and feminine. Tears were forming in his…her? eyes.

The fat Chinese man was chortling now. The crowd merely gaped in awe.

"The curse of the ancient Clow Reed fountain," he began knowledgeably, "make two people who get angry switch bodies."

"How do you fix it?" Tomoyo's voice asked from the crowd.

"Ah," said the man, holding up a finger, "Clow put curse on fountain, Clow know how to lift it. But a quick fix is to apologize!"

Sakura and the boy looked at him as though he had asked them to start a moon colony.

"You apologize, and then you switch back," Sakura grew hopeful, "But," he said, waving his finger pompously, "When you get angry again at anybody, you switch. No matter how far apart you are!" he said to the boy in Sakura's body, who had opened his mouth to speak.

"Where is this Clow Reed?" the boy asked instead. Sakura felt faintly sick watching him unceremoniously wring out his skirt, giving everyone a great view of her legs.

"Oh he die long time ago," the man said, grinning. Sakura burst into tears.

"Will you stop that! Boys don't cry!" the boy said arrogantly.

"No worry, though. He have descendant. He fix you."

"Where is he?" Sakura asked, wiping her face on her sleeve. The boy cringed with disgust.

"I dunno. But you go on quest to find him. He somewhere in China. He last seen by me in big mansion across forest." He pointed north, where the wilderness expanded as far as the eye could see.

"Oh Sakura, I'll go with you!" Tomoyo said, running up to the real Sakura. She turned to the boy and asked him his name.

"Li Syaoran," he muttered.

"No you don't go!" the man said, "Only subjects of curse may go on quest!"

"And why not?" Tomoyo asked indignantly.

"Because Clow say so!" he replied, pointing to the intricate characters on the fountain. Sakura and Syaoran sighed. The duo searched the crowd in vain for their teachers and classmates, but everything was blocked by the incredible girth of the Americans, who were half blinding them with all the camera flashes. They must have gone to do the scheduled tours as planned and forgotten their few stragglers.

"Ok…" they started walking to the forest when something white and fuzzy shot by them and fell into a tunnel-like hole a few yards ahead. The hole was so small it seemed to belong to a rabbit, though they hadn't seen a rabbit their entire time at the garden.

Tomoyo alone noticed how strange it was for such a hole to be overlooked by the people who managed the park, but she said nothing, as it didn't seem important. She, Sakura, and Syaoran were staring at the little man, wondering why he'd thrown a stuffed toy down a random hole. The crowd around them chattered anxiously as the guide enjoyed holding the suspense.

"Well?" Syaoran growled impatiently, his voice coming out weak and feminine from Sakura's mouth. Everyone was fixated on the Chinese guide.

"You follow the rabbit!" the fat man said happily. Syaoran ran back to him and grabbed him by the neck.

"You threw that, you stupid old coot!"

The man picked up Syaoran by the back of his shirt, giving everyone a display of Sakura's stomach causing Sakura to blush with embarrassment. Her boy body reacted funny to that…

"This is good for the tourists, so you'll do it!" the man hissed in Chinese. He threw Syaoran into Sakura, and the two of them tumbled towards the hole.

No way would they be able to fit in that hole together! It was just a small opening in the ground, definitely only big enough for one. Sakura braced herself for the impact.

But it never came. The two just kept falling, their bodies weirdly tangled up. They could see the stuffed rabbit falling a short ways below them.

"Just in case we don't survive this, I apologize," Syaoran said, and when Sakura opened her eyes she was looking at him as a girl. They had switched back, just like the guide had said they would.

"Oh thank God," she breathed. In the boy's body, the pants were awfully tight.

The ground was getting closer, and they watched as the bunny hit the ground, bouncing pathetically a couple times before being discarded by some invisible hand into a pile on the side of the room.

Sakura and Syaoran hugged each other as they hit the ground, but again there was no impact. They bounced lightly a couple times and then were set on their feet, still clinging to each other.

"Where are we?" Syaoran asked, as the two sprang apart, blushing.

"I dunno…" Sakura muttered, looking at the pile of discarded items. There were stuffed rabbits and pandas and a good amount of trash. Much of it looked ancient.

"Well are you just gonna sit there and gawk?" he said. Sakura got a good look at him for the first time. He was handsome, though his arrogance shone through the expression on his face.

"Jeez, _excuse_ me," she huffed, and they began to circle the room. They came to a door. It had a large crescent moon carved in silver on it. Strangely, there were no handles.

"Apparently he was a fan of fairytales, this Clow person…" Syaoran was saying, as he examined the door apprehensively.

"What?"

"Never mind."

"No, tell me!"

"Just be quiet."

"You're a big fat meanie!"

"Who are _you_ calling fat?"

"Well excuse me, Mr. My Pants Are Way Too Tight!"

"What?" he looked confused.

"When I was in your body, the pants got tight when I looked at you—I mean, you in _my_ body," she said.

He stared at the ground, his face extremely red.

"Whatever… Boys are so weird…" she said, and pushed the surprisingly light door open. They had ended up in the forest… but at the same time a weird feeling hung in the air. The plants looked the same, except they all had a strange silvery glow. A light rustling and a flash of red indicated the movement of some strange bird.

"This must be his magical version of the forest…" Syaoran said aloud.

"Oh so _now_ you believe in magic, huh?"

"Oh shut up."

They walked a little ways when the door slammed shut behind them. The forest was lit, and furthermore there was a breeze, which was odd considering they were underground.

"How can there be sunlight here?" Sakura wondered aloud.

They walked on, the silence growing more and more uncomfortable. Sakura was becoming more and more aware of the ridiculous nature of her predicament. Here she was, in some kind of subterranean forest with a strange Chinese boy. She looked around, resisting the urge to start babbling nonsense. She could feel that he wanted to say something too and was relieved when Syaoran finally spoke.

"What's your name, anyway?" he asked, trying to look uninterested.

"Kinomoto Sakura," she said, pausing to examine a flower that she had never seen before. It was pretty. It had five silver petals around a swirling middle. It glowed brighter than the plants around it.

"Oh? Is your father's name Fujitaka?" he asked, watching her pick the flower. It reminded her so much of a person she knew, but she couldn't quite remember who.

"Yea, why?" she caressed a petal. Was it this soft before? It looked like it had glasses on. _No, that's just silly…_She thought.

"Oh my friend Eriol says he's distantly related to some Kinomoto Fujitaka, that's all…" Syaoran stared at the ground.

Sakura wasn't really listening at all, too absorbed by the flower, which seemed to be moving. She tickled a petal with one finger and the stem began to shake back and forth. Curious, she leaned in and sniffed the center. It didn't smell like a flower at all, more like…

"Yukito?" she said aloud. Syaoran stopped mumbling and turned to her.

"Who?" he asked. Sakura turned to him to reply, but then felt the flower getting heavy. She turned back to it and gasped.

"Oh my God!" Sakura shrieked, and dropped the flower, which was growing at an alarming rate. It took the form of a young man in his twenties with gray hair and kind eyes who was wearing glasses. He was dressed in slacks and a vest, with a bright red bowtie. He bowed.

"Yukito!" Sakura shouted. Syaoran looked confused.

"Who is this?"

"This is Tsukishiro Yukito, he's—"

"—the person Sakura cares for the most," the young man said, smiling. Sakura blushed. Syaoran smirked.

"Kinomoto, this is _obviously_ an illusion, he was a flower just a second ago—"

BOP!

Yukito had pulled out an extremely large pocket watch and proceeded to smack Syaoran on the head with it. It popped open to reveal a rotating moon tracking the seconds, and two hands like wings indicating the time, 3 pm.

"Why you!" Syaoran growled,angrily. Suddenly he was watching himself. He and Sakura had switched.

"Nice going, idiot!" Sakura yelled.

"Oh I'm so late!" Yukito said, and he hopped (yes, hopped) away.

"No! Yukito!" Sakura shouted and chased after him.

"Kinomoto! You're still in my body!" Syaoran growled and tore after the two of them. This girl could run pretty fast, he had to admit.

He then ran smack dab into his own back. Sakura had stopped. Yukito was blocking the exit.

"What is Clow Reed's favorite fairy tale?" he asked, his voice as blank as his expressionless face.

The two gawked at him, thinking. Hmm..

"_Through the Looking Glass_!" "_Alice's Adventures in Wonderland!_" They shouted at the same time.

They realized that they needed to answer with both when Yukito said, "Since you are both correct, you may pass."

Sighing with relief, they walked out the door. They had come out on the edge of the wood on a tall hill. Syaoran had stopped in his tracks, his hands twitching.

"It will get more difficult as you go on…" the robotic voice came drifting out from behind them.

"Great, hey Li—" Sakura stopped. Is that really what she looked like when she was angry? She followed Syaoran's gaze.

"Oh! A mansion!" she said happily, still surprised at how deep her voice was. Syaoran continued to twitch.

"What's wrong?" she asked. His now-green eyes were set in anger on the house.

"That's…my house…" he growled. There was no mistaking the large Yin Yang symbol delineated by two different kinds of grass in his front yard. The columns were a dead give away, too. He smacked his forehead.

_Life just isn't fair_, he thought in irritation.

DM: Well that's it for now guys! Tell me how you like it—please review!

Next Chapter: At the Li Family Mansion


	2. At the Li Family Mansion

DM: Well I'm back. Thanks so much for your reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. I also don't own anything that this fic reminds you of. My brother wrote the shopping list.

**Curses!**

**Chapter Two**

**At the Li Family Mansion**

"That's your _house_!" Sakura yelled, "I was separated from my _school _and _friends_ so I could go to your stupid _house_?"

Syaoran was dangerously silent, his face contorting into a frown. Sakura glanced over and was startled. She still wasn't used to the whole "body-switching" thing.

"Listen," he said, gripping her shoulder tightly, "you have to pretend to be me, and I will be an exchange student that's come to live with us."

"_What_? Why can't you just freaking apologize?"

"It won't make a difference…" he said softly, and began walking towards the house, trying several times to shove his hands into nonexistent pockets.

Sakura had never seen herself from the back before… this was weird. Her butt was kind of cute, though…oh the pants were getting tight again. It sucked being a boy.

The door was large and a deep burgundy hue, with a gold doorknocker in the shape of a dragon's head. Syaoran ignored it completely and rang the doorbell located to the right of the door. An older man with glasses answered the door.

_This must be Li's father_, Sakura thought, although he had a very kind (albeit a little wrinkly) face that didn't really resemble Syaoran's. His hair had gone completely gray.

"Hi, Da—"

"Mr. Wei!" Syaoran caught her just in time, shooting a glare in her direction, "I finally get to meet you!"

The man called Wei smiled at the two teenagers and ushered them inside. Sakura's mouth fell open at the interior of the house. It was so nice! The floors were made of very shiny white marble, and two large rose-colored columns marked the beginning of a beautiful spiral staircase. The handrail seemed to be made of gold.

"If you keep your mouth open like that, you'll swallow some flies…" Syaoran whispered, clearly irritated. Sakura clamped her mouth shut and glared at him.

"So why can't we just switch back, Li?" she hissed under her breath as Wei led them to a sitting room.

"Oh baby brother!" a tall girl with black hair tied in a high ponytail cried out.

"That girl is so cute!" remarked another tall girl with her hair done in loops about her ears.

"Is she your girlfriend?" asked a short girl who resembled Syaoran strongly.

"Oh she looks Japanese!" the fourth, also short but with black hair, noted.

Syaoran looked extremely irritated as four girls ran towards the two of them and began pinching their cheeks. Both facial and otherwise. Sakura nearly yelped when the tall one prodded her butt with interest. Syaoran sighed.

"Uh…hi…" Sakura said. Her face was going numb as one girl took a cheek in each hand and began to stretch.

"Girls, girls…" a woman said from behind the onslaught, her voice low yet carrying throughout the entire room. Sakura felt a strange aura radiating through the wall of hyper girls.

"Sorry mother…" they chorused, and they sat back down. Syaoran still looked incredibly irritated.

So that was why they couldn't switch back, because Syaoran would keep getting angry at his sisters anyway.

"So, Xiao Lang, who is this?" the voice from before asked Sakura in Chinese. She was very beautiful, with long black hair and Syaoran's amber eyes. She sat in the most impressive chair in the room and wore what looked like Chinese robes, made of burgundy velvet and trimmed with gold. Her look was gentle, yet imposing as she surveyed the two of them.

"Uh…well, this is Kinomoto Sakura, she is an exchange student from Japan," she began in Japanese, "I think it would be best if we all spoke Japanese around her for the first couple of days to make her feel more comfortable."

She looked nervously at Li's mother. She had a glazed expression on her face, like she was trying to remember something long forgotten.

"Kinomoto…Kinomoto…" the woman pondered, looking regal as she did so, "Not by any chance Fujitaka's daughter?"

"Y-yes, I am," Syaoran said, looking confused by his mother's behavior. She was usually much more self-assured.

Abruptly, his mother narrowed her eyes and stood up. She gave Syaoran and Sakura a meaningful look and excused herself quietly, floating out of the room. The girls promptly returned to their pinching.

"Is she always like that?" Sakura asked, forgetting for a moment that she was Syaoran.

"Never," Syaoran said through clenched teeth. This was quite out of character for his mother.

Insert Line here

Sakura was in Syaoran's room, examining his stuff. The walls were a surprisingly docile green, although several posters of martial arts positions decorated the walls. In the corner there was a bin that contained what looked like practice swords.

She walked around and noted that on his desk was a shopping list for school. It read:

_6 Binders_

_10 black pens_

_4 packets of paper_

_1 cannon with a 45 degree arc_

_1 grenade with 35 yard blast radius_

_450,000 boxes of Altoids_

_The Moon_

_1 finely crafted Miracle, with a side of coleslaw_

A little further down, near the bottom of the page, he had scribbled: _That's what you get for snooping into my stuff, fools!_

_He is so weird..._ she thought, putting the paper back down and chuckling a little.

Sakura snapped herself out of it. She had more pressing things to think about!

"What am I going to do? I have to tell my family, and my school. No one is ever gonna believe me! And all those people that saw us…will they just think it's an act? What if they report us to the government??"

Her door swung open and she let out a yell, holding her pillow up to protect herself.

"Don't dissect me, please!"

"What are you rambling about now?"

Sakura looked up to see herself at the door. Syaoran put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow.

"I was worried that if the government finds out about us, they're going to dissect us!"

Syaoran sat down next to her on his bed. His warm, fluffy green bed on mahogany. So nice… He didn't like sleeping in the guest room, to say the least.

"Don't worry, my mother will protect us."

"But she doesn't know!"

"Exactly. You think she'd let them dissect her son and his cute exchange student friend when nothing is wrong with them?"

"Cute? Friend?" Sakura asked, confused and blushing. Syaoran also blushed and turned away.

"It's part of the act, Kinomoto," he assured her.

Sakura stared at her pillow. That still left the issue of her school and family.

"What about _my_ family? They're never gonna believe this. If only I could convince big brother to let me transfer to your school…"

Syaoran tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"I think he'll believe you," he said quietly. Sakura looked at him questioningly.

"Well your dad, he was good friends with my dad, and I know that my dad believed in magic."

_Believ_ed? _Was?_

"So why didn't you?" she asked, as he grabbed the phone and handed it to her.

"Because my—"

"Syaoran! Please come downstairs for a moment!" one of his sisters called. Sakura thrust the phone at Syaoran and gave him a glare that said 'Just do it!' before running down the stairs. However, the stairs were made of wood this time and looked nothing like the ones she'd seen at the entrance.

Unfortunately there were several different sets of stairs, each leading to a different wing of the house. She tried to follow the sound of the voice, but let's face it. Her sense of direction has never been great.

"I'm so screwed…" she said as she began to wander, already hopelessly lost.

Meanwhile, Syaoran had dialed the number on Sakura's backpack on his cordless phone. As it rang, he grew more and more nervous.

_What if nobody's home? Her school knows by now that she left with me…_

"Hello?" a male voice picked up.

"Hello, Father?"

"Father left on his trip to Egypt yesterday, Monster, you should know that! It's your ultra handsome fantastic older brother!"

Syaoran practically gagged. Sakura had left out that important detail! Syaoran could _never _convince her older brother that he was her!

"Well I met a family that Dad used to be friends with, and they wanted me to transfer to Hong Kong, because—" he scrambled around for a reason, "Because Dad and them agreed a long time ago that I get to know them well!"

"Oh?" her brother's voice sounded skeptical, "which family?"

"The Li family," he said hopefully.

There was a silence on the other end. Her brother must have been thinking carefully.

"Very well, dad was always really close with that guy…But didn't he have a son?" his voice was dangerously soft.

"Uh yea, but he has four sisters and I only hang out with them! He's an icky meanie!" Syaoran quickly blurted out, hoping that that was what he wanted to hear.

"All right then, Monster, I'll call the school right now. Be good!"

Syaoran let out a huge sigh of relief as he hung up the receiver. He wondered what was taking Sakura so long. As he waited, he set about examining her body. Just a little bit.

She had an athletic figure, with smallish breasts and long legs. On a whim, he took off a sock. Her feet were so cute! He blushed and pulled the sock back on. What was he thinking?

"Xiao Lang, I asked you to come down ten minutes ago…" Feimei said as she entered the room. Her hair was still tied up in its ponytail. Syaoran looked at her, confused.

"He left when you called, maybe he got distracted?"

Feimei left without another word. Syaoran turned to the mirror and touched his face.

"Xiao Lang…_I'm_ Xiao Lang…"

But no, Sakura had not gotten distracted. She had merely wandered down a totally unused corridor that was probably haunted—she shuddered.

"There you are! Why are you here?" one of Syaoran's sisters found her at last. She tried to look more annoyed than relieved.

"Well…" What could she say?

"Never mind. Let's go to the study. Mother wants to show you something."

Sakura let herself be dragged down the stairs, when suddenly she was hit by something with black hair moving at a very high speed.

Sakura blushed. It was a girl. Here hair was tied up in two odangos, and her slanted terra cotta colored eyes shone as she spoke. She was wearing workout clothes that were similar to a karate gi.

"Xiao Lang! How I've missed you, my love!" Sakura looked up to see Syaoran at the top of the stairs, smirking.

"You must be Miss Meiling," he said, feigning friendliness, "the fiancée that Xiao Lang has told me about!"

"Yes," the girl said proudly, squeezing Sakura a little harder, "And who are you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

Sakura was mildly dazed as Syaoran introduced himself as Kinomoto Sakura.

I'm _Sakura…_she thought.

She snapped out of her daze to see Meiling nose to nose with her, a pleading look in her eyes. She had missed whatever she had said. Well, there was only one thing to do:

She kissed Meiling on the mouth. _That_ was an odd experience. Her pants didn't get tight with this girl though…it was kind of a pleasant sensation now that she thought about it.

"Xiao Lang!" Meiling screeched, and jumped back, a hand over her mouth, "You're not Xiao Lang! He would _never_ do that!" and with that she ran away.

Syaoran looked mildly impressed.

"I wish _I'd _thought of that…if only I had known that that would get rid of her…So are you a lesbian?" he whispered, smirking, as they followed Feimei.

"No! It just seemed appropriate, since she's your fiancée!" she hissed back. For a minute, Syaoran actually smiled, but it was gone when he saw where Feimei had led them.

It was the oldest library in his house—the one with the stupid magic books and diaries in it. His mother was there, holding a long scroll and tapping her chin thoughtfully. It must be a Li family thing. Two walls were covered in old, leather-bound books from floor to ceiling, but the third looked like a cubby and held nothing but scrolls in various stages of decay.

"Ah, Xiao Lang, it seems your father left something to this Kinomoto girl in his will." Sakura froze. So that's why Syaoran behaved so strangely, she realized. Wei was actually the butler, and Syaoran's dad was dead. She felt a pang of sadness at the thought.

"What was it?" Syaoran asked, dying of curiosity.

"This," she said simply, holding up a cute pink key on a chain, "I don't know what it unlocks, though."

Sakura took it from her and examined it. She had never seen anything like it in her life. It looked kind of like a miniature bird's head, with a red beak and little white wings. The style of the wings reminded her strongly of the clock she saw in the magic forest. She silently handed it to Syaoran, who also examined it. Mrs. Li and Feimei left the room, but she and Syaoran hung back.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling again the dizzy sensation that meant she was back in her own body, "about your dad."

Syaoran didn't say anything, only pretended to be interested in the books on the shelves. Sakura joined him in looking. Neither of them spoke.

As Syaoran's eyes scanned the shelves without really seeing them, he fought with himself. He wanted to open up to her, but at the same time, she wouldn't understand.

"If you ever want to talk about it…" Sakura began, "I'd listen…"

Syaoran smiled to himself as he examined a book that had caught his eye. It was a very old diary, bound in coarse brown leather. The lock had all but rusted away. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around, forgetting to wipe the smile from his face.

"I lost my mom you know, so I understand how you feel."

Syaoran's eyes widened. Thinking she had made him uncomfortable, Sakura quickly looked at the book over his shoulder, her breath tickling his hand. He couldn't lie to himself. She was very attractive.

"This is from the Ming Dynasty, Li." At the sound of his surname, Syaoran felt his heart harden a little.

"Yea, maybe it has something about Clow Reed," he said. They tried to turn the page. Their hands touched, and they jumped apart, blushing. The book fell open on the floor, miraculously unharmed. It fell open.

"Sorry…" they both muttered, and Syaoran got on his knees to pick it up. Sakura did the same, and their hands touched again, causing them to pull back. It was then that Sakura noticed the name "Clow" on the diary page. She read it aloud:

"_Today Clow and I arrived in Egypt, where he said he had magical business to attend to. He told me about the most marvelous joke he and the emperor played on the concubines! The emperor was complaining that they fought too much, so Clow made a fountain that made them switch bodies when they fall in together!"_

Sakura and Syaoran groaned. This was his idea of a _joke_?

"_Of course there are innocents who fall into the fountain as well, and so Clow has set up a path to make it easy to find him or one of his descendants…a marvelously complex bit of magic, really…he has enchanted several people (who will pass the enchantment on to his descendants), objects and places to aide the accursed in their quest. The amazing part is, the objects only react to those afflicted with the curse! Marvelous, really…"_

Syaoran's mouth hung open. Sakura smirked and said, "You'll catch flies if you do that, you know." He shut his mouth angrily.

"Yea ok Miss Pervert-girl."

"Pervert? Me?" Sakura asked angrily, and before she knew it she was back in Syaoran's body.

"Oh nice one, Kinomoto!"

"Well you shouldn't have been teasing me like that!" she growled.

"Well you just take everything too personally! Jeez!"

He picked up the book and closed it. Sakura continued to glare at him.

"I think this book is one of those magical objects…that's why it's been preserved so well…"

Sakura nodded.

"What do we do now?" she asked, "Go to Egypt?"

Syaoran smiled.

"How do you propose we get Mother to give us permission to do that?" he asked in reply.

"It's already granted, Xiao Lang," his Mother said from behind them. She had seen the whole thing! And she had called Syaoran by his name even though he was in Sakura's body!

Syaoran panicked, "Uh Mrs. Li—Xiao Lang is over there!" he pointed frantically at Sakura, who nodded about a zillion times. His mother only looked amused. She sat down on the floor in front of Syaoran.

"Your father died by maintaining his belief in magic. You think I wouldn't believe in it after that?" she asked him softly. Sakura's eyes widened.

_Now I see…_

"You will leave for Egypt tomorrow," she said, "you must be rid of this curse as soon as possible!"

Sakura and Syaoran stared at each other, aghast, and nodded dumbly. They walked up the stairs to Syaoran's room in silence. When they got to the door, their hands touched again, but this time they held them there.

"Uhm," Sakura said, embarrassed, "You're sleeping in the guest room, remember?"

"Oh…right…" Syaoran's eyes were downcast. He turned to go.

"Wait!" she said, grabbing his shoulder (he was still in her body), "You can stay here. Let's just switch back."

"Alright…" he seemed suspicious about her kindness, "I'm sorry, Kinomoto."

They switched back, and Sakura took several steps before turning around, embarrassed.

"Where's the guest room?"

Syaoran stopped. He took her by the hand (she felt like her stomach did a flip) and brought her to a room a little ways down the hall from his own. It was a plain-looking but comfortable room. Everything was a pale gold, from the four poster bed to the walls and walnut wood.

"Thanks," she said, "Good night."

"Good night." He turned and went back to his room.

_Maybe he's not so bad after all…_

DM: Aw they're bonding! Sort of… Let's see how they handle their trip to Egypt! Oh hey, Sakura's dad is in Egypt too! Hmmm… Anyway, please review!

Next chapter: In de Nile


	3. In de Nile

DM: Hey kids I'm back! Thanks so much for your nice reviews—I'm so glad you guys like my story! **Important: I know the potential for gender confusion given the nature of the fic, so I would just like to clarify that I will always refer to Sakura and Syaoran by their true gender (i.e. Sakura will always be called 'she' even when she is in Syaoran's body) and the context will tell you whose body they are in.**

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. 'Rock the Casbah' is a song by the Clash.

**Curses!**

**Chapter Three**

**In de Nile**

Sakura was peacefully dreaming of a bunny-ear-free Yukito. Together they were walking in the park on a nice, sunny day. The two were laughing happily, each holding a generous ice cream cone. Sakura sighed as she looked up into Yukito's smiling face. Suddenly, Yukito's features grew harsh, his nose pointing downwards, his eyes slanting up and his hair growing longer and whiter. She didn't even recognize him anymore at the end of his transformation.

"What's your name?" she asked, suddenly afraid.

"I'm—"

"FUUTIE GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Sakura, who was already mad at being awakened so rudely, was irritated to find herself in Syaoran's body, the fist still shaking at the girl, who giggled madly as she scampered off.

She shook her head and sighed, heading back into the room only to trip over an empty bucket and hit the floor with a loud 'thud'.

"Ow…hoe?" Sakura discovered that she was all wet. Fuutie must have dumped water on Syaoran to wake him up.

Sakura sighed again. It could potentially take him years to apologize to his older sister, so she decided to take the initiative and dry off. She removed the clingy and cold shirt and was stunned by her abs. They were so nice!

She faced the full-length mirror on the wall and examined Syaoran's body. The muscles on her chest were very well defined, and when she flexed, the arm gave way to a generous bump of a bicep.

"Syaoran," Sakura heard over her shoulder as Yelan's face had appeared in the door. The woman only stared, but she radiated authority to the point that Sakura felt ashamed.

Sakura blushed madly and nodded, choosing not to reveal herself in such an awkward position. She was spared the humiliation of taking off his pants as a loud 'Sorry Fuutie!' rang out through the house.

_Jeez, does my voice really sound like that?_

Back in her own body, Sakura noted with relief (and a bit of dejection) that her pajamas were still completely on. She silently hoped that Syaoran would not care that she had removed his shirt.

She had borrowed clothes from Syaoran's sisters, who all had bigger breasts than she did, and Yelan had promised that once they arrived at Cairo she would take her clothes shopping.

Dressed plainly in only jeans and a large tee shirt, she wandered out into the hall. Syaoran exited his room immediately after and only glared at her. Great, so he had minded. Sakura attempted to smooth down her hair. She had forgotten to tie it up into her usual little pig tails.

Sakura and Syaoran traveled to the airport with Yelan and Wei in a stretch limo. No one spoke, making Sakura feel like she was going to a funeral. She gave Syaoran a sidelong look that he did not return as he was staring out the window at the passing marketplace. Hong Kong was much more busy than Tomoeda.

"We're here, kids," Yelan said softly. Sakura blushed as Syaoran caught her staring. He turned a little pink and then looked away.

Checking in and getting on the airplane was a blur to Sakura. Everyone treated Syaoran and his mother as though they were extremely important. They never waited in line for anything.

As the flight attendant discussed the safety features of their aircraft, Sakura's thoughts drifted to Tomoyo. When would she see her again? And what about the school that Touya had transferred her to?

A strange feeling came over her. The magnitude of her quest was suddenly apparent. Real life was not real life anymore. It was a side concern. Magic was real.

"Magic is real…" she whispered. Syaoran only grunted, already reading a magazine.

Sakura wondered what they were going to do in Egypt. How would they find Clow's descendant when they didn't know his name or what he looked like? She thought long and hard about a possible plan.

"Hey, Sakura darling, isn't your father in Egypt right now?" Yelan asked her. Syaoran did not look up from his magazine, but his eyes stared at one spot on the page.

"Yeah he is…" _Oh what am I going to tell him?_

"_Hey Dad, so this really rude guy pushed me into a cursed fountain and now we switch bodies when we're pissed. We have to go on a quest now so that we can be cured, and we're looking for a magician's descendant whose name is unknown. Don't worry about school, I guess I won't be going anymore! Oh yea, and magic is real!"_

Oh yeah. _That_ would go over well. Sakura wondered if maybe she was insane. What if everything was just in her head? That forest…Yukito…what _was_ that?

"Don't hurt yourself by thinking too much, Kinomoto," Syaoran said, smirking. Sakura elbowed him in the ribs. For some reason he really got under her skin.

"Asshole."

* * *

Egypt was beautiful, but Syaoran really didn't give a damn. His mother was out shopping with that stupid girl and he was stuck in their hotel room. No way could this be happening. Not to him.

He sighed and glared at the ceiling. How did he get into this mess? Now he would never go to university and his life would be completely ruined. He tried to picture the mysterious Kinomoto Fujitaka in his mind. He was a friend of his father and a relative of Eriol, yet Syaoran had never met him before. It struck him as odd.

His face began to take shape. It was kind, with softly glowing green eyes. He had auburn hair and it reached his shoulders and when he smiled he cocked his head to one side…Wait, that wasn't a man. That was Sakura. Syaoran slapped his forehead with his hand.

_Enough already, she's just a stupid rude, ugly girl._

And besides, that idiotic rabbit was the person most important to her. Just picturing him made Syaoran annoyed, though he wasn't sure why. Probably because he was so damn cryptic and unhelpful.

Exactly how did they plan to find Clow Reed's stupid descendant in this mess? He was thinking so hard he didn't notice that his mother and Sakura had entered the suite, carrying bag after bag of clothes.

"You are such a polite and nice girl, Sakura," his mother was saying. Syaoran turned onto his side and pretended to be asleep.

"Oh thank you so much—you didn't have to buy me all these clothes, I mean I—"

"Don't be silly. My husband was a great friend of your father's in his youth. He specifically left that key to _you_ in his will."

"Yes, but…why?" Sakura asked, fingering the key. She had bought a chain from a toothless old woman in the marketplace and placed the key on it, so as to always keep it with her.

Sakura went to Syaoran's room to ask him what his plan was, but he was asleep. His shirt was up a little ways, revealing his toned stomach.

Unable to control herself, Sakura ran her slender fingers over his six-pack, feeling the flesh react to her touch. His breathing seemed to quicken in his sleep. Sakura wondered what he was dreaming about, still feeling his stomach.

"May I help you, pervert girl?" he asked suddenly. Sakura was so startled she fell of his bed.

"I'm so sorry! I—uh—" she had no good excuse.

"It's ok, I'm used to girls drooling over me," he said, sneering at her. She turned away, arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah, sure. You're so modest."

"Don't lie, I was awake. I saw, or rather, _felt_ you," he said in a low voice, bringing his mouth next to her ear. Sakura pushed him away.

"Pervert!" she shrieked.

"Look who's talking." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Shut up, I'm mad at you now."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"What makes you so damn sure?" she snapped, turning to face him.

"You're still in your body."

Sakura just walked out of the room, utterly embarrassed. Why was he teasing her so? Yelan had received a call from the concierge and didn't notice as Sakura left the suite, and eventually the hotel.

Syaoran sat up in his bed, feeling his stomach with a bemused expression. He heard the door to the suite close and got up immediately. He didn't bother to tell his mother he was going out.

He saw Sakura cross the busy street and disappear into the crowd. He dashed after her.

"Kinomoto! Kinomoto!"

The people around him stared. And made way as he ran, but Sakura, hearing him, quickened her pace, running on ahead.

"Excuse me," she asked a woman at a stand. It was the same one who had sold her the chain earlier that day; she knew from the many shawls and wooden necklaces she wore on her thin and wrinkled frame. "Do you know which way to the pyramids?"

The woman gave a wheezy laugh and pointed across the Nile River with a very long and tanned finger. There, towering over everything in sight, were the pyramids, practically glowing in the late afternoon light. Sakura blushed at her own stupidity.

"Thank you!" she said. Never did she think to ask herself how that clearly Egyptian woman knew Japanese.

_I have to find Dad_, she thought desperately.

Syaoran ran after Sakura, taking care not to lose sight of her bouncing auburn hair. It wasn't safe to wander around a place like this alone, didn't she know that?

_And where the Hell is she going? _he asked himself, unsure of what the girl was up to now.

She was running towards the bridge over the Nile. Syaoran followed, now realizing that she was heading toward the pyramids.

"Kinomoto!" he shouted. She stopped on the bridge and turned around, wide-eyed.

"Why are you following me?"

"Because it's not safe out here."

"Why do you care?" she asked, and attempted to continue running. He caught her by the shoulder and turned her around to face him.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" he asked, smiling at her. Sakura blushed and then swatted his hand away.

"Leave me alone," she said coldly, and then felt that dizzy feeling. When she blinked again she was staring at her own body.

"Great. Fabulous."

"You could apologize, you know," Syaoran said sweetly. Sakura wanted to gag. This was just too weird for her to handle.

"Ugh, I hate you.'

"No you don't," he said. Suddenly, he began tickling her.

"Aha! Only I knew my only weakness! I am extremely ticklish!" he yelled triumphantly, tickling Sakura until she fell…

…into the Nile River. The reeds that ran along side it did little to break her fall and on the other side the sand dropped off straight away, giving her nothing to grab on to.

"Oh shit."

Syaoran dove in after her, annoyed at how weak Sakura's body was. The current carried them down the river. Finally, Sakura managed to grab a rock on the side of the river and extended a hand to Syaoran, who grabbed her whole arm for dear life.

"I'm sorry, Li."

Back in her own body, Sakura didn't resist as Syaoran dragged her up on shore. They were way out of the city now, but something large was almost directly in front of them.

She looked up, not listening to Syaoran's whining about how stupid she was. The large something was the Sphinx an enormous statue roughly the size of a building of a cat with a man's head, and there, by its left paw…

"Dad!" Sakura took off like a rocket, but her dad disappeared and the Sphinx bent its head down to her level.

"Why is that thing moving?" Syaoran's voice quaked as he caught up with her. The giant stone mouth opened, and it spoke:

"Answer the riddle and you may continue your quest:

What walks on four legs in the morning,

Two at midday,

Three in the afternoon,

And walks not at all in the evening?"

Sakura's heart stopped. A giant stone-cat-thing just told her a freaking riddle. Great.

"A man!" Syaoran shouted. Sakura looked at him, aghast.

The Sphinx nodded and its mouth opened once more. Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Before either of them could speak, they were sucked inside.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

They were falling again. Wait, how could they be falling if they were sucked _forwards_ into the tunnel? It must have been the work of Clow. Just like before, they hit the ground lightly.

"Where are we?" Syaoran asked, looking around.

"Looks like a tomb…" Sakura whispered. Hieroglyphics covered the walls. There was only one exit to the room, a long dark and incredibly frightening tunnel.

"Hmm…" Syaoran began examining the walls. There was Chinese mixed in with the hieroglyphics, and the same man was depicted in every scene.

"This must be Clow," Sakura said softly, pointing at the man. He had long dark hair and wore robes. He carried a funny looking staff.

"It says…Clow knew much of making worlds of his own…"

Syaoran whispered to himself, following a particular thread of characters down the tunnel. Sakura stayed close behind him, absolutely terrified.

To calm herself she sang a song:

"Sharif don't like it  
Rockin' the casbah  
Rock the casbah  
The sharif don't like it  
Rock the Casbah  
Rock the Casbah"

"What's a Casbah?" Syaoran asked, pausing. Sakura blushed.

"They mean the Arab market place…I was thinking about it…"

They fell into silence and walked for what seemed like ages, when finally they came to a door that was large and red with a golden winged lion carved on it. In its mouth was a tiny keyhole.

"Oh cool, we'll just open it like last time…" Syaoran said, and reached for the handle. It was locked. He turned around to look at Sakura.

She was shivering and glancing around the dimly lit tunnel frantically.

"What's wrong?" he asked, adding a smirk when he heard the concern in his own voice.

"I'm scared of ghosts," she whimpered. Syaoran made a mental note of her fear with satisfaction.

"Don't be scared. Now let's figure out a way to unlock this stupid door."

He looked at the relief just above the door. It depicted Clow turning a key into his magic staff. Sakura simply moved to the door and stuck her key in.

"What are you doing?" Syaoran asked.

"Unlocking the door."

"Oh get real," he said, rolling his eyes, "like that's going to—"

With a click, the door unlocked and swung open.

DM: Hate to leave you hanging, guys, but that's where it stops for now. I'm leaving for Hawaii tomorrow morning for a week, so I won't be updating for a while… Sorry! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that! Please review: questions, comments, wild speculations and random declarations of love are always welcome!

Next chapter: Fifty-two Pickup


	4. Fiftytwo Pickup

DM: Hey everybody! Thanks so much for your lovely reviews! You'll see some influence from my Hawaiian vacation in this chapter, heehee. Oh and the fic from now on is going to be ADVENTURE and FANTASY! I'm not sure which genre I should put.

I understand that the plot has been moving fast but from here on out it will slow down.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. Or Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.

**Curses!**

**Chapter Four**

**Fifty-two Pickup**

"Hello, Chosen One!" a voice with a strong Osaka accent boomed.

Sakura dared open one eye. Syaoran had stepped in front of her and spread his arms out. In front of him was…a _flying _stuffed animal?

"What _are _you?" Syaoran asked the creature, poking it with his finger. The small animal huffed, sticking its yellow furry chest out and beating its cute little wings.

"_I _am the guardian of Clow, Kerberos!" he? (neither of them could be sure) exclaimed proudly, clearly expecting them to be impressed.

They just stared.

"Hey, wait a minute…" the 'guardian' eyed them both suspiciously, "There is only supposed to be _one_ of you!"

Sakura and Syaoran jumped back, surprised. The flying creature held up its paws in an attempt to calm them down.

"Please allow me to explain," he began, (Syaoran quietly muttered a 'Please do') "This is Clow Land, and I am the Keeper of the Gate, Kerberos. Clow created this land long, long ago, as a place to house the magical cards of his creation."

"Cards?" Sakura asked.

"Clow was the greatest sorcerer of all time, aided by magical spirits of his own creation. He gave these spirits physical bodies in the form of his cards. They have all lived happily here. However…" Kerberos' face darkened.

Sakura and Syaoran took a step closer, as Kerberos drew a long, rattling breath.

"However, since his death, he has been re-incarnated…but into _two_. The Cards have gone out of control, and…" he gestured around them.

Sakura and Syaoran looked around. While some of the landscape was beautiful, with rolling fields and forests, some of it was clearly ravaged, as though by war.

"They fight amongst one another," Kerberos whispered.

"But what is this Chosen One?" Syaoran asked, clearly intrigued.

"When I was very young, Clow told me that one day a new magician would come and claim his cards. The Chosen One would reign as the new magician of the world. I always thought it would be one of his reincarnations, but," he looked pointedly at Sakura, who still clutched the magic key, "Clearly I was wrong."

Sakura gulped, terrified. A magician? A Chosen One? What was going on?

"Hold it," Syaoran said, "We're not on a journey for the cards; we're on a journey to rid ourselves of the curse—"

"What curse?" Kerberos asked, clearly puzzled, "Is that why there are two of you?"

"You see—" Syaoran started.

"Wait," Sakura said, "I want to hear more. Then we can tell him our story."

Syaoran turned away and folded his arms against his chest. He was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans and didn't exactly like the lack of civilization around them. Sakura looked entreatingly at Kerberos, pulling the key out from under her large tee shirt (she had yet to change from Xiefa's clothes) and dangling it in front of him.

"Look, girly, I don't know how you came into possession of that key, but to put things plainly, if you used it to get in here, then you are without a doubt the Chosen One. You must come with me and tame all the cards of Clow Land, before…"

"Before what?" Sakura's mouth was very dry.

"Before they escape into the outside world," Kerberos finished darkly. Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"We must leave on this journey right away," Kerberos pleaded, "This guy," he gestured towards Syaoran, "is just an extra. Useless." Syaoran's eyebrow twitched.

"Wait, but he is a part of my curse, I can't leave him, unfortunately," Sakura said sadly. Syaoran's eyebrow twitched some more.

"What curse are you guys talking about?" Kerberos asked, clearly annoyed that the journey to save the world was being put on hold.

"Well," Sakura drew a breath, "Li and I fell into a fountain cursed by Clow. We switch bodies when we are angry, and were told to go on a journey to find Clow's last descendant, in order to cure ourselves. We thought we were following a lead on our quest, but we ended up here…" she trailed off and stared at the key as it twisted almost happily.

"Why would Clow pick a Chosen One who was so careless?" Kerberos asked himself, much too loudly.

"Hey, you stupid stuffed animal, don't you get it? She's not the Chosen One! So let us go and continue on our quest!" Syaoran was breathing hard, clearly trying not to get angry. So far it was working.

"Hm. Well you're wrong. Girly, I want you to say: 'Release the Seal!' and hold the key aloft," Kero said, unperturbed by Syaoran's barely contained rage.

"Release the Seal!" Sakura said, much louder than was necessary, and suddenly the area around them went dark. The ground at her feet lit up, but she couldn't see it; she was too transfixed by the key—it was growing into a staff. It fell lightly in her hand and she tested its weight. She looked around her and realized that they were in a forest that was clearly not Egypt. Big leafy trees blocked out a bright midday sun. It had been evening when they had arrived, hadn't it?

"There ya go, kid," Kerberos said, smirking at Syaoran (whose jaw now grazed the floor), "she's clearly the Chosen One."

Sakura promptly fainted.

* * *

"Kinomoto, you idiot!" Syaoran knelt by Sakura's still form and wiped her forehead with his sleeve. The staff lay on the ground, a slender pink thing with a red top that had wings.

"Why would Clow pic a Chosen One who was so faint of heart?" Kerberos asked aloud. Syaoran sighed.

"You've told her too much. Where we come from, people don't think magic is real…" Syaoran said. He thought of his father and felt a mixture of righteousness and pity.

"Well like it or not, she _has_ to do something. It's her duty. I guess you'll have to come too. Clow never told me about this cursed fountain, but I'm sure that once that girl has enough magic, she can find one of his reincarnations, who can help her."

"Why them? Why not a descendant?"

Kerberos gave a short laugh.

"Clow has many descendants all over the world. Many people are related to him by blood. But the only ones who know any of his magic are his reincarnations, for they have inherited his memories," he said, as though it were totally obvious.

They both fell silent, and stared at Sakura, who was now napping happily with her head in his lap. He brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"So you're Li, huh?"

"Li Syaoran."

"And what's her name?"

"Kinomoto…Sakura."

* * *

"…Sakura."

Sakura's eyes twitched open at the sound of her name. Syaoran and Kerberos peered down at her.

"Oh…So it wasn't a dream."

Her head hurt from when she hit the ground. She rubbed it and sighed.

"Kinomoto," Syaoran said, looking at the ground, "Kerberos says we must go on this card-collecting journey if we are to be free from the curse."

"Oh…" Sakura said, staring at them. Suddenly, she brightened.

"When can we start, Kero?"

The little guardian hesitated. "Kero?" he asked confusedly.

"I think it suits you better than Kerberos," Sakura said sagely. Kero shook his head.

"Wait till you see my true form!"

Sakura giggled, picturing a giant stuffed bear. Kero glared.

"Alright, Kinomoto, let's get going," Syaoran said.

"Useless," Kero muttered.

"Stuffed animal." Syaoran shot back.

Sakura just sighed and walked on ahead of the two, but suddenly Syaoran was in front of her.

"Li?" she asked. She turned around and saw Syaoran and Kero still arguing, but Syaoran appeared to be calm. She turned back. The other Syaoran was nose to nose with her. In spite of herself, she blushed a deep crimson.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked, scared out of her mind.

"Huh?" Kero and Syaoran looked up to see the 'other' put its arm around her waist.

"What the hell?" Syaoran yelled. Suddenly he was dizzy, and then he was in Sakura's body. The 'other' seemed to have noticed and now walked towards its mirror image. It realized that they had switched bodies.

"Oh crap! The curse!" The 'other' threw a punch, and Sakura dodged it, running away. The staff flew from Syaoran to her and she attempted to hit her attacker with it.

"Sakura, don't be dumb! It's the Mirror Card!" Kero shouted.

"Mirror?" Sakura said, she turned around.

"Seal it! Tell it, 'Return to the form you were meant to be in, Clow Card!'" Kero shouted desperately as the Mirror rounded on him. Sakura raised the staff, but it was strangely heavy.

"It won't obey me in this body…" Syaoran watched from Sakura's body, amazed to see two of himself.

"Mirror Card!" he said, as strongly as he could, distracting it. To Kero, he said quickly, "I apologize!" in order to return things to normal.

The card was so stunned it tripped while in pursuit of Kero and fell. Back in his own body Syaoran handed the staff to Sakura. She raised it and brought it down on the card, which now took the form of a little girl.

"Return to the form you were meant to be in, Clow Card!" Sakrua shouted.

In rapid twisting of smoke, the little girl became a harmless card, and flew into Sakura's outstretched hand. The Mirror looked oddly serene on the front of the card.

"Bravo, Chosen One!" Kero cheered. Syaoran huffed.

"I helped, you know," he said softly.

Sakura smiled at him, taking him by surprise.

"But you can't do magic, so you're practically useless," Kero said.

"Just shut up, you stupid stuffed animal."

It was getting dark. The trio walked on, Sakura still staring at the card. Finally, when they reached the shelter of a small wood, Syaoran motioned for them all to stop. Sakura stuffed the card into her undershirt, not having a better place to put it.

"We need to rest for the night. Good thing the weather is so warm, as we have no supplies."

Sakura nodded vaguely. Suddenly her stomach growled. She blushed and Kero laughed.

"I'm hungry…"

"Well you've had a big day," Kero said, "You! Li! Go find us some food!"

"I'm not your servant," Syaoran said coolly, but he walked off anyway. Sakura sat down. Kero hovered in front of her.

"You've already caught one card, Sakura. You must sign your name on it, and then you can use it to catch other cards!"

"Great..." Sakura said, fishing out a pen that was miraculously still in her pocket and writing her name on the Mirror.

"Now then, we shall continue on our quest, and hopefully you can find one of Clow's reincarnations so we can be rid of that brat."

Sakura said nothing. She was tracing letters in the dirt with her finger. D-A-D. T-O-U-Y-A. T-O-M-O-Y-O. What was she going to do?

* * *

Meanwhile, as Syaoran walked through the forest foraging for food he heard a voice:

"Ah? La carte a echappe! Ou peut-etre quelqu'un l'a attrape!"

Syaoran froze as the voice, the voice of a girl, giggled.

"Non, ca c'est ridicule, je suis seule…"

Syaoran backed away. The girl was coming towards him. What was he going to do? He didn't understand her language! He stepped on a branch, and it gave a loud dry snap.

"Huh? Qui est la?" the girl called out suspiciously. Suddenly Syaoran was bumped into from behind.

"Oh la-la!"

DM: Woo! Cliffhanger! And new character! I hope I didn't confuse you guys, but if I did, please tell me in a review and I will go back and try writing this chapter again to make it less confusing. Basically, Sakura is the Chosen One of Clow Land, where she has ended up after being led astray from the Curse quest. Anyway, please review and I will do my best to update soon!


	5. Windswept

DM: Hello again

DM: Hello again! Thanks so much for your reviews! I know it seems like I'm rushing it, but now it's going to slow down. Sakura will have to capture all the cards, and who knows the crazy kinds of people she could meet on the way?

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, but Nicole is mine!

**Curses!**

**Chapter Five**

**Windswept**

"Et qui etes-vous?"

Syaoran spun around and came face to face with the French girl. She had large dark brown eyes shaped like almonds and long dark brown hair. She was very tan, and rather pretty.

"I'm Syaoran…" he said, bewildered. He now noticed that her clothes were very worn, as though she had been living outside for a while.

"Oh! You speak Japanese! I'm so sorry!" the girl said, smiling brightly. Abruptly she curtseyed.

"I'm Nicole," she said, gracefully standing up again, "My father is Japanese and my mother is North African…I come from France."

Syaoran only nodded dumbly. For a moment they stared at one another. Suddenly realizing that he was supposed to introduce himself, Syaoran stuttered:

"I-I'm actually Chinese, but I'm traveling with…" he paused, thinking of how best to describe his situation.

"Do _you_ think _you're _the Cardcaptor?! The Chosen One?" she asked quickly, getting right in his face.

"N-no, I—"

"Of _course_ you don't! Because everyone knows that _I_ am the Cardcaptor!" she practically shouted, pumping a fist in the air.

Syaoran was stunned.

"Who the Hell are you?" a voice with an Osaka accent rang out from the woods behind him.

"Hoe? What's this? A talking stuffed animal?" Nicole walked up to Kero and pulled on his cheeks.

"Ow—h-hey!" She gave him one good prod in the stomach (knocking the wind out of him) before backing off.

"Li, Who is this?" Sakura asked softly. She stared at Nicole as if she'd never seen someone quite like that before.

"Oh you are so cute!" Nicole exclaimed, and she ran over and hugged a stunned Sakura, who only patted her back meekly in return.

"I'm Nicole," she announced loudly, taking another sweeping curtsey.

"I'm Kinomoto Sakura…" Sakura said, taking a step away.

"Oh Syaoran, you should have told me you were traveling with such a cute little Japanese girl! Is she you're girlfriend?" she asked the last bit rather slyly, eyes shifting between the two of them rapidly.

_Hoe? She's already calling him Syaoran?_

"N-no! Of course not! Ew!" Sakura yelled, sticking out her tongue and shaking her head. Nicole giggled behind her hand.

"So I guess that means you're free for the taking," she giggled, patting Syaoran on the shoulder. He looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Hey, wait a second!" Kero shouted. He had recovered his wind and was now flying straight for Nicole's face.

With a yawn, she lazily swatted him away. Sakura's stomach decided to take the opportunity to growl as loudly as possible. Everyone, even a viciously angry Kero, stared at her as she blushed.

"Ah…sorry…"

"No worries," said Nicole cheerfully, and she promptly took off her backpack. It seemed too small to be of any use, and none of them had noticed it up until that point.

However, inside the bag was kindling and matches for a fire, a pan, several cans of food, a poker, and—this was the amazing part—a full-sized tent. Sakura and Syaoran's jaws dropped to the ground.

Kero and Nicole looked unfazed by this strange occurrence.

"B-but how?" Syaoran stuttered, pointing between the bag and the sizable pile of objects. Nicole looked confused.

"What do you mean? I just put them inside," she said simply.

Kero flew up next to the bag and gestured over the large patch consisting of an overlapping sun and moon on the back.

"This is Clow's seal. This bag has been enchanted to carry as much as possible."

"You sure are smart for a stuffed animal," Nicole said genuinely. Kero wasn't sure whether to be flattered or insulted.

"So why are you in Clow land?" Sakura asked, stooping to help Nicole unfold the tent. The other girl grinned broadly as the tent folded open with a loud pop. It was dome-shaped and made of deep-blue denim-like material. It was getting dark soon anyway, and who knew what was hiding in the forest.

"I'm the Chosen One, of course!" Suddenly Kero was flying up into her face, brandishing his fists.

"You? The Chosen One? The Chosen One is Sakura! She's the one with the key!"

"Hm? The key?" then realization dawned on Nicole's face, "Ah yes, to seal the cards. Well then," she turned to face Sakura, who still looked confused, and opened her hand.

"Give it to me," she said simply.

"No way, Sakura! It's yours!" Kero flew between the two girls, practically flailing in the air.

"Yea," Syaoran chimed, "My dad left it specifically for her!"

"Yes, yes, that's nice," Nicole said, but her hand did not close. She looked at Sakura expectantly.

"You can't use it, can you? In my family, we have always known that the Chosen One would arise from us, because this bag has been passed down through generations. I have been training for this all my life, waiting for the portal to open."

"Portal? What Portal?" Kero asked.

"The one in my backyard. It's always been there, the entrance to Clow land. So it is pretty clear that _I_ am the Chosen."

"Have you caught any cards?" Kero asked slyly.

"N-well that's none of your business," Nicole blurted, blushing, "and what _are_ you, anyway, you stupid stuffed animal?"

"_I_ am the Guardian of the Clow, Kerberos!" Kero said proudly. Nicole looked aghast.

"_You_? Why would Clow make such a harmless and cute thing a guardian?"

"Hey, watch it—"

"—Kero, that's enough," Sakura said. Her voice sounded tired. It was now well into the night, and she hadn't eaten since lunch.

"Kinomoto's right, let's deal with this after we've all had something to eat," Syaoran said, failing to hide his concern.

Kero and Nicole sighed and shrugged, and everyone set up the camp in earnest.

"So you're from Japan, Sakura?" Nicole asked as they ate stew from the cans around the little fire.

"Yes, but through a weird sequence of events, I ended up in Egypt, where the portal…"

"Sucked us in," Syaoran finished for her.

"Ah, I see. Care to tell me the story?" Nicole tilted her head to one side and cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, it all started with my class field trip to the Ming Dynasty gardens in China. The junior class goes every year."

"Oh, so you're seventeen?" Syaoran asked. Sakura looked at him.

"Yea. How old are you?" The question was meant only for Syaoran, but Nicole piped up first.

"I'm eighteen!"

"I'm eighteen as well," Syaoran said with a little less enthusiasm.

"I don't know how old I am…" Kero said, looking down. He had practically stuffed himself full of stew, and now sat with his back against Sakura's leg, patting his bulging stomach.

"Anyway, we got to the gardens, and Li's school was there as well. We got to this fountain, and the announcer guy was telling everyone about how Clow Reed had laid a curse on the fountain. Then…"

"Then I made an ass of myself, and teased her for believing in magic. We had a tussle, and somehow ended up in the fountain. We then…" Syaoran swallowed.

"We switched bodies," said Sakura, looking at her empty dish, "and the man at the fountain told us we had been cursed. Now every time we get angry, we are punished and switch bodies. The only way to switch back is if we apologize to whomever we were mad at."

At this point the two kids looked at Nicole expectantly. She was tapping her hands together with the tips of her fingers.

"That's one hell of a curse," was all she said, not looking either of them in the eye.

"So then this guy at the fountain tells us to go on a quest to find Clow's descendent—"

"—but that could be anybody—"

"—don't worry, I set them straight," Kero said, rubbing circles on his spherical belly.

"Uh, anyway, he threw us down this hole after a rabbit, and we had to go through this forest—"

"—which was in another dimension—" Syaoran interjected.

"Like Alice in Wonderland. And when we made it out of the forest, we came to the place that Clow's 'descendant' had been seen last, at Li's house."

At this point Nicole laughed and Syaoran grumbled. Kero too let out a short bark of laughter.

"Betcha feel dumb _now_, Li." He said. Syaoran prodded his stomach in response, causing him to almost throw up.

"So then what happened?" Nicole asked interestedly. She was now propping her head on her hands, elbows on her knees, leaning forward so as to hear her over Kero's pained groans.

"We tried to cover our bases and clear things up with our families, which didn't do much good because Li's mom found out anyway. She gave me this key," Sakura pulled it out from under her shirt and showed it to Nicole, "because Li's father left it to me in his will."

Nicole's eyes darted to Syaoran, who was still snickering at the suffering guardian.

"We then found a diary, saying that Clow had gone on a trip to Egypt with one of Li's ancestors, so his mother decided to take us there."

"And it was in Egypt that by a crazy set of coincidences, we ended up in front of the Sphinx, who swallowed us up," Syaoran finished.

"Then they met me," Kero said happily, "and I gave them the low-down on Clow land."

"So you figured that if you completed the Cardcaptor quest, you could find the one who can help you?"

"Yes, one of Clow's reincarnations," Sakura said, nodding.

"Which quest is more important to you?" Nicole asked Sakura seriously.

The other girl looked down.

"The curse!" Syaoran shouted.

"The cards!" Kero shouted.

The two fell to squabbling, though thankfully Syaoran controlled his temper.

Nicole did not appear to be listening. She was staring at the key necklace that now hung on the outside of Sakura's shirt.

"Have you," she pointed at it, "sealed a card with that?"

"Yes… the Mirror," Sakura said. She pulled the card out of her pocket. The little girl holding the mirror looked like she was sleeping. Nicole snatched it away.

"It's so…beautiful…" she breathed. Syaoran quickly grabbed it from her.

Before anyone could say anything else, Kero managed to fly up, saying:

"Well I'm bushed, let's turn in for the night."

No one said much as they packed up and headed into the tent. There were several cots lined up inside its suspiciously spacious interior.

"Now I know why there were so many in here," Nicole said, to no one in particular.

Syaoran pushed his cot to a far corner of the tent, and lay down immediately, back to the rest of the group. Kero slept on a little pillow on the floor. Nicole and Sakura lay down facing each other.

Sakura and Kero fell straight to sleep. However, Syaoran remained awake, suspicious of the other girl in the room. After Sakura and Kero's breathing had slowed, Nicole got up and crouched near Sakura's cot. Syaoran heard the rustling and got up from his cot and grabbed her shoulder. Nicole gasped.

"What are you doing?" he asked sternly. She looked away. In her left hand was the key, and her right hand had been attempting to remove the necklace from Sakura's neck.

"You won't get that from her," he said, releasing her. He moved his cot between hers and Sakura's. Nicole just huffed and went to sleep.

"Not while I'm around…" Syaoran whispered into his pillow. _I'll protect Kinomoto no matter what…at least until the curse is broken, _he thought.

Insert Line here

Breakfast the next morning was completely silent. Nicole and Syaoran glared at each other the whole time. Sakura and Kero, utterly oblivious to the events of the night before, chatted together happily about the different kinds of cards.

"So there's really a card that does nothing but make flowers?" Sakura was asking.

Kero's response was muffled by the large amount of pancake in his mouth. Suddenly, Nicole asked,

"Would you all like to travel with me?"

The other three looked at each other. Sakura smiled at Li, who only looked away.

"If you'll have us," Kero said sagely after swallowing his pancake, "I think Clow meant for the Chosen to travel in a party such as this one."

Nicole said nothing but nodded. Syaoran watched her apprehensively.

"Now I think I feel a Clow card coming from that direction," Kero said, pointing West, away from the rising sun.

"Let's go!" Nicole said.

Sakura and Syaoran hung back, with Syaoran's gaze still on Nicole's skipping form.

"Li…" Sakura began slyly, "Nicole sure is _cute_, isn't she?" she elbowed him in the ribs.

"What? Yea I guess so," Syaoran said. He looked at Sakura, pondering whether to tell her of the night before. Deciding against it, he kept on walking, a bewildered Sakura in tow.

"Whoa! Hey!" Nicole shrieked. A huge gust of wind had knocked Kero into her face.

"Oh wow!" Sakura yelled, fighting to hold her ground in the intense wind. Thank god she was wearing pants.

"It's the Clow card! Say it's name!" Kero shouted at her as the wind blew him away.

"Wind Card…no that's not it…oh yea, Windy!" Sakura shouted. She pulled out her key and chanted 'Release the Seal'.

The Windy swirled together and took the form of a woman, floating in midair. She giggled and then went straight for Sakura.

"Look out!" Syaoran pushed her out of the way, and Windy bowled him over.

"Are you all right?" Sakura called as she whipped out the Mirror. Nicole was struggling to stay on her feet and Syaoran was on the ground—

"Mirror! Make multiples of me!" Sakura shouted, tapping the card with her staff like Kero had told her to do.

With each step she ran around Windy, who was wrapping herself around Syaoran's prone body, another Sakura sprouted up and ran in a line with her. Soon she had made a ring with Windy in the center.

In unison, all the Sakuras taunted, "Come and get me, Windy!"

Leaving Syaoran alone, Windy attempted to hit all the Sakuras (there must have been at least twenty) at the same time, spreading itself too thin. In that split second that it was at its weakest, the real Sakura broke rank and pounced:

"Windy! Return to the form you were meant to be in, Clow Card!" she shouted, striking it with her staff. In whipping folds and waves, the Windy returned to its card form. All was silent.

Nicole began applauding.

"Well done, well done! Perhaps you _are_ the true Cardcaptor after all!" she cheered.

"Told ya so, girlie!" Kero said, giving Sakura a high-five.

Syaoran sat up and stared.

"You did it," he said, mildly dazed.

"No need to sound surprised," Sakura snapped.

"Hey! I just saved you!"

"Well I saved you too, you punk!"

"Don't call me a punk, you pansy!"

"Shut up or I'll bust your snot locker!" Sakura shouted. The two switched bodies.

"Fabulous…"

Nicole was laughing so hard she was on the ground, but Kero appeared confused.

"What's a snot locker?" he asked Syaoran, who was in Sakura's body once more.

"It means your _nose_, now give me that!" Sakura said, snatching Windy from Syaoran. Instead of apologizing, she promptly wrote her name on the card. This was the right decision.

Because at that point something pink and fluffy hit her (in Syaoran's body) in the face.

DM: Well that's all for now! Now then, I need you guys to help me decide something important. I can either:

Continue on with the story as is as my next update

OR

Go back and split chapter 1 into two chapters (and add length to each chapter) and lengthen the other chapters as my next update (to make the story flow better).

YOUR REVIEWS WILL DECIDE! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!


	6. It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's

DM: Hey all

DM: Hey all! Sorry it's been a while since I last updated—I spent almost every free moment watching Ouran High School Host Club (that anime is freaking amazing!) But now I'm back with the latest installment of Curses! Thanks so much for your reviews for the last chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc One: Clow Land**

**Chapter Six**

**It's a Bird—It's a Plane—It's—**

Spitting fuzz from her lips, Sakura threw the pink fluff-ball off her face. It bounced harmlessly on the ground and then turned and gave her the evil eye.

"What _is_ that thing?" Nicole yelled. Kero laughed triumphantly.

"It's the Jump Card!"

As if the sound of its name sent an electric jolt through its little body, the Jump sped off like a scared rabbit.

"Wait! Come back!" Sakura cried as she tore after it, forgetting completely that she was still in Syaoran's body. Syaoran ran behind her, already out of breath.

"K-Kinomoto!" he yelled, "That's my body you're running away with!"

"Oh shut up, Li!" she shouted over her shoulder, "Sorry but I have to run!"

She was back in her own body, but Syaoran had been 100 meters behind her. She was going to lose the card.

"Damn it," she cursed under her breath.

"Hey, Kimono, use your stupid magic!" Syaoran shouted as he tackled the card and missed, getting a mouthful of dirt in the process.

"It's Kino_moto_, you idi—oh wait!" Sakura paused and whipped her wand around, "Windy, capture Jump!"

Windy, who was still not a big fan of Syaoran's, bowled him over and wrapped itself around Jump.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura shouted, and Jump, squirming all the while, reverted back to its card form. Sakura quickly wrote her name on it and smiled to herself.

"Augh…" Syaoran groaned as he got up, his front covered in dirt. Sakura knelt in front of him and brushed the dirt out of his hair.

"Are you alright?" she asked, running her fingers over his face to check for cuts. He blushed crimson and fell on his back. Sakura leaned over him.

"Did he just pass out?" she murmured as she continued to check him for injuries. Syaoran didn't know what to do, so he pushed her off him and sat up.

"Get off me, Kimono, you perverted girl!" Sakura's eyes widened with shock and then narrowed dangerously.

"Excuse me for worrying about you—and it's KINOMOTO, not KIMONO!" she yelled and then slapped him in the face.

That turned out to be a mistake, as when she blinked again she was in Syaoran's body her cheek was throbbing. She suddenly felt his injuries: a couple bruises and scrapes. For a moment she was awed at what it felt like to be another person.

"I'll call you whatever I want, Miss Kimono, so get used to it," Syaoran said, and he stuck his tongue out at her. Sakura only stared. Why hadn't she been this amazed before?

"What are you staring at?" Syaoran asked, and then realized how close their faces were. This was certainly a strange development. He leaned closer, and heard Sakura's breath get caught in her throat.

"I—I—I'm sorry, Li," she said, standing up abruptly and leaving Syaoran sitting stunned on the ground. However the situation was soon reversed.

Sakura stood up quickly, and Syaoran looked rather unsteady on his feet. She dusted off the seat of her pants and began walking back.

"I bet Kero and Nicole and very worried about us, let's head back," she said, deliberately avoiding Syaoran's questioning gaze. He only shrugged and followed her.

_I wish I could be more of a help_, he thought, _then maybe we could go home…_

They walked in silence for a while, not looking at each other. Finally Syaoran's irritation got the best of him.

"It's not like I wanted to kiss you or anything, it's too weird when you're me."

"Yea well I wouldn't kiss you even if you were you!" Sakura shot back. Syaoran frowned at her for a moment as she stared at the ground.

"I don't believe you," he taunted, and skipped ahead. Sakura caught up with him and asked,

"What makes you say that?" He looked at her and smirked.

"I know what being close to me makes you feel." In truth, he didn't exactly, but she was getting so worried that this was fun.

"Yea go screw yourself, your jerk. You're just an utter narcissist," she huffed.

They walked silently some more when suddenly Sakura spoke again,

"Haven't we passed this particular tree before?"

"Hm?" Syaoran turned and looked. It was an extremely gnarled and unique-looking tree.

"Great, not we're lost…" Sakura sighed.

"Sakura! Useless kid!" Kero's voice came from ahead.

Sakura took off at a run.

"Kero!" There was Kero, floating by Nicole's shoulder and waving at her. She was almost there…

"Huh?"

She was back in the forest. Way back. She had definitely seen this particular rock several times… Suddenly, she pounded her fist into her palm.

"I've got it! It's a Clow Card!" Her face fell. "But which one?" she sighed and kept walking forward. Kero's colorful swearing began to reach her ears.

"Useless!"

"Stuffed animal!"

"Syaoran! Don't take another step!" Nicole cried. She looked quite stunned after all the magical happenings that had occurred that day.

"It's the Loop!" Kero called out, hoping that Sakura would hear him.

"I've got it!" she broke into a run, brandishing her staff. Syaoran just dodged in time. Everyone stared at the ground.

There, between them, was a huge, red, absolutely blatant and obvious red line.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura shouted, and she captured the Loop.

She then passed out due to exhaustion. Capturing so many cards together and using so much magiv had drained out a lot of her energy.

"Sakura!" Kero flew down to her. She was sleeping peacefully on the mossy floor of the forest.

"Three cards in one day is a lot, no?" Nicole asked. Syaoran turned to her.

"How do you know?"

"I've been training to be a Cardcaptor all my life," she said sadly. Syaoran reached out a hand to pat her on the shoulder, but then she suddenly turned towards him.

"So want to tell me why you and Sakura didn't notice the totally obvious red line that was here all this time?" she asked slyly, as Kero tried to pick Sakura up.

Syaoran blushed, and stared at the ground. Sakura grabbed Kero and hugged him, murmuring "Teddy" under her breath. Desperate to get away from Nicole, whose manic glint disturbed him more by the minute, Syaoran crouched next to Sakura's sleeping form.

"Hey, kid," he said, slapping her face lightly, "wake up."

Sakura sat up, nearly squeezing Kero to death.

"You dare wake me up?" she asked evilly, looking at him from under her bangs. Syaoran gulped, and promptly switched bodies with the furious girl. He fell back asleep…he was so tired all of a sudden.

Sakura blinked twice, and noticed the change of body as well. She smirked over at her sleeping body, and then looked at Kero, who was catching his breath, and Nicole, who was giggling behind her hand.

"What's so funny?" Sakura asked. Nicole stopped giggling and looked her right in the eye.

"I didn't know that this curse existed, but I'm sure glad it does!" she dissolved into giggles again.

"Why?" Sakura asked suspiciously, arching one eyebrow. Hey, she didn't know that Syaoran could do that (she couldn't raise one eyebrow in her own body).

"Because it means that you will have to work out your problems instead of running away from them! You guys will be just like a newly wedded couple!" Nicole's eyes shone, reminding Sakura irresistibly of Tomoyo. She looked at the ground sadly and began walking away.

"Hey wait! I was kidding! Why are you upset? I just think it's funny!" Nicole gushed. But Sakura was not listening at all. She had already walked out of the forest and into the clearing.

Insert Line here

Syaoran awoke to find that he was a girl. _Fabulous! Just great! _He thought sarcastically. He sat up and looked around. Nicole was cooking dinner (some kind of meat stew from a can), and Kero was talking happily to the cards that Sakura had already captured. They had set up camp in the shade of two large pine trees. How the forest went from deciduous to coniferous is beyond me.

Mirror, Windy, Jump and Loop. Syaoran wondered why Sakura was chosen as the Captor. He looked down at his now feminine and soft hands.

_Why am I here?_

"Oh Syaoran, you're awake," Nicole smiled at him from over the fire, "Could you go out and find Sakura? She hasn't returned from her walk yet."

Syaoran only nodded and set off towards the clearing. Walking in Sakura's body felt…odd. He had a new appreciation for the necessity of a bra, feeling his whole body bounce weirdly with each step. He wondered if Sakura noticed odd things about his body…

He inhaled deeply through his nose. Boy did this girl smell! Syaoran made a mental note to tell her to bathe ASAP when they had returned to normal. His body probably didn't smell too nice either.

Where was she? He had been wandering around for ten minutes now…she couldn't have gone that far, could she? He sighed.

"What a stupid and reckless girl," he muttered under his breath. He looked up at the slender crescent moon that barely emitted a soft and pale light. He rubbed the cut hand absently.

The moon was eclipsed for a fraction of a second, but by what Syaoran couldn't tell. He ran back to the campsite, where Kero was stuffing his face with a croissant while Nicole chatted away.

Finally, Sakura returned, still looking sad. Syaoran ran to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Syaoran," she muttered half-heartedly, causing them to switch back. She then turned away from him and walked off.

"Oi, what's the matter?" he called, chasing after her as she walked.

"I miss my friends and my family," she called back, not turning around, "I miss my old life!"

Syaoran said nothing but followed her back to camp. She walked into the tent and lay down in her cot, staring at the ceiling, thinking still about Tomoyo, Yukito, Touya, her father, her teachers, her friends… The others entered the tent, careful to avoid talking to her. She pretended to be asleep anyway.

Insert line here

Everyone else was asleep except for her. She clenched a fist and felt a surge of venomous rage. Nobody understood her! She then found herself in Syaoran's body, lying on his cot. Syaoran hadn't noticed the switch. She sighed.

She heard a flapping sound outside and felt a tingly feeling in her hands and feet. She walked out and looked up. There was a huge creature in the sky—a Clow Card! She took off after it.

Hearing her run out, Syaoran got up, noticing before all else that Sakura didn't wear a bra to sleep. He shook his head of this nonsense and then proceeded to wake up Kero and Nicole.

"Sakura's gone!" he said. The other two got up and the trio split up to look for her.

Syaoran ran around the forest, calling her name hopelessly—where was that girl? Finally, he found himself circling back to camp, where the other two had also returned after a fruitless search.

"I can't find her!" he said in Sakura's voice. A strong gust of wind came over the forest and put out the fire.

The three companions looked up. There, flying above them, was a huge,

"Bird!" Syaoran yelled.

"Plane!" Nicole shrieked.

"You idiots, it's the Fly card!" Kero growled.

"And Sakura's on it!" Nicole yelled. Syaoran gasped. Clinging to the neck of the enormous bird was Sakura, in his body.

"You stupid girl!" Syaoran shouted, causing Nicole and Kero to stare, "If you break my body I'm gonna kill you so much—"

"Li, you idiot! I'm sorry!" Sakura yelled back cheekily, sticking her tongue out at him.

_Fuck._

Syaoran was now the one clinging to the bird, and Sakura was below him summoning Windy. But the bird was too fast for the card, and Syaoran watched in despair as the group got further and further away.

And then they got really close.

And then they got further away.

"Sakura, just seal the card already!" he shouted, terrified. Going through the Loop was not a pleasant experience.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura shouted.

Now Syaoran was falling.

How nice.

"Jump!" Syaoran sighed with relief as Sakura caught him in midair, and they safely landed over the forest.

Sakura set him down and set about writing her name on the newly captured Fly Card.

"You really are reckless you know," Syaoran said. Sakura only nodded and continued to stare at the card.

"Do you even care what happens to me at all?" he asked, irritated. Sakura froze.

She hugged him, hard.

"I'm sorry, Li, I shouldn't have," she said into his neck.

"Oh yea, that reminds me," he said, trying not to blush. Sakura looked up at him.

"What?"

"You really need to take a bath."

Sakura's face turned red and she turned away from him. He smirked.

"It's not like you smell fresh as a daisy either," she huffed, crossing her arms. Syaoran chuckled. She turned and looked him in the eyes.

"You're cute, you know that?" he said, the words spilling from his mouth before he could stop them. She blushed again.

"Oh, and another thing," he reached out and grabbed her hand, the one with the cut, "You have a—"

The cut was gone.

The cut had disappeared completely.

Syaoran bent closer and re-examined the hand, then grabbed the other one.

No cuts.

_What the…?_

Sakura, didn't notice Syaoran's confusion. All she understood was that he was holding her hands right now. A warm feeling spread from her stomach.

"W-well," Syaoran stood up, obviously shaken, "Kero and Nicole are probably wondering where we are, in fact…" the two kids looked around.

"Where are we?"

They were suddenly in a desert, though the woods were right next to them. In the distance they could see something rising up in the middle of the flat, sandy expanse.

"Let's go back and get Kero…" Sakura said softly, tugging on Syaoran's sleeve.

"Yea, let's…"

DM: Oho! What will happen next! I'm gonna try to have her catch multiple clow cards per chapter, just to keep the story moving. Let me know if you don't like that or something! Please review!

Next Chapter: Seeing Double


	7. Seeing Double

DM: Sorry it's been like two weeks since I last updated

DM: Sorry it's been like two weeks since I last updated. Being a first semester senior is extremely tough/is ruining my life.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc One: Clow Land**

**Chapter Seven**

**Seeing Double**

"It's…so hot…" Sakura panted, her shoulders slumping over in the hot sun.

She swiped the sweat from her forehead and turned to Syaoran. He had taken off his shirt and was now in the process of rolling up his jeans.

"And…dry…" Syaoran wheezed.

Their feet struggled in the soft sand as they mounted dune after dune. There were no plants in sight.

Kero and Nicole said nothing, for both were under the shade of her lovely (but small) parasol.

They had been wandering in the desert for weeks after capturing the Fly card. Not a single Clow Card had crossed their paths, and nothing even remotely exciting happened, unless you count the epic battle between Sakura and Syaoran over who smelled the worst (forced to smell himself, Syaoran eventually admitted defeat).

However, today would be the day that something exciting would happen. Sakura just felt it.

"Nicole, can I have some water?" she asked. Her dry tongue slipped over the other girl's name lazily.

"Of course, Sakura," Nicole cheerfully replied. She opened the insanely large magic bag and felt around inside for one of the bottles of river water they had saved. She grasped one and pulled it out.

"Here you go—oh!" she exclaimed in surprise. Stuck to the bottom of the bottle was a roll of parchment.

"What's that?" Kero asked quickly. Nicole pulled it out of his reach as Sakura gulped down the warm water.

"It's my mission!" she said, and then froze. Kero took this opportunity to snatch the parchment away.

"Oh…" she laughed nervously, "I guess it's Sakura's mission."

Syaoran turned around and noticed that he was several meters ahead of the group.

"What's the hold up? Is she drinking or bathing?" he asked irritably, "Not that I would mind if she did the latter…" he added with a smirk.

Sakura frowned, her mouth full of water, and Syaoran laughed. He couldn't help himself. Making fun of her was just so fun. Sometimes he wished that Kero and Nicole would just disappear.

"For your _information_, Li, Nicole has just—"

"Oh this is just the prophecy," Kero cut in, relief evident in his voice, "Why did you have it, Nicole?"

"It's always been in my family," Nicole responded, while Syaoran and Sakura stuck their tongues out at one another.

"C'mon, let's keep walking before Sakura bashes my face in," Syaoran said blithely. Sakura fumed but followed his lead. Kero and Nicole were soon after.

"Hey Kero," Nicole began, "does anyone _live_ in Clow land?"

"From time to time people wander in, and, unable to distinguish it from the real world they are content to live here," he replied.

Kero was knocked off Nicole's shoulder as she walked straight into Sakura's back.

"What is this?" Kero yelped angrily, but his mouth stood open when he saw what was in front of them.

Two extremely large and elaborate mansions stood side by side, identical copies of one another. They were in the French style, with gilding along the doors and windowpanes and elaborate mansart roofs.

The four companions simply stood and stared. Then slowly, hesitantly, the door on the left opened to reveal a small boy with messy blonde hair and glasses, dressed in a light tee shirt and shorts. He looked to be about twelve years old.

"Hello!" he called out to them, "Come in come in! We never get visitors!"

The four looked taken aback but went up to the door anyway. The boy, in the meantime, had noticed the other house.

"Gee," he said as they came up, "Guests and neighbors all on the same day."

"Who lives in that house?" Kero asked the boy.

"A stuffed animal?" the boy asked Nicole, looking puzzled. He had bright blue eyes and curly blonde hair.

"Kero is our friend, don't judge him by his size," Nicole said pleasantly.

"Or by the fact that he's a stuffed animal…" Syaoran added quietly.

"I dunno who lives there. I've only seen it just today," the little boy said, and with that they all went inside.

"Mama! We have guests!" the boy yelled into the house. Then, turning around, he added: "My name is James."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Nicole."

"I'm Sakura."

"I'm Syaoran."

"Such exotic sounding names," James remarked to Nicole.

They came at last to a small kitchen, rather cold despite the desert heat. A beautiful lady with light brown hair and blue eyes smiled to greet them and set a tray of tea on the table. The tray and cups were as elaborate as the house itself.

"Tea!" Sakura and Syaoran were upon it instantly, finding it pleasantly iced and sweetened. James and Nicole began talking, and Kero spun round in circles trying to look at everything at once.

"What's the matter, stuffed animal?" Syaoran asked, grabbing the spinning guardian by the tail.

"Clow Cards….so many…"

Unnoticed by the five of them, the smile on the woman's face froze.

"So lady," Kero asked, regaining his composure, "who moved in next door?"

The woman said nothing and only shrugged. Kero nudged Sakura's hand. She paid him no mind and continued drinking her tea. He bit her finger.

"Ow! Kero—!" He made a motion for her to be quiet and then gestured outside.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" James asked, his mouth full of cookies.

"I dropped something—outside!" Sakura said quickly, and she and Kero got up and ran out of the house.

Really smooth.

When they got outside, Sakura spun around and looked angrily at Kero, who coolly stared back.

"Get your staff out Sakura, there's Clow Cards galore here. I've been sensing them ever since we entered the desert."

Sakura did what she was told, and then turned and looked expectantly at him.

"You have to call it out. If you can get a Clow Card's name it will reveal its true form to you."

"So what's its name?" Sakura asked irritably. Kero smiled and shook his head.

"I can't tell you this time. This card is much smarter than some of the others."

Sakura frowned.

"Fine fine, I'll give you a hint. This card makes everything double, because it has been double from birth."

Sakura mouthed out the words to herself, while staring back and forth between the two houses. They were identical, down to the last detail. Double from birth, double from birth…

"The Twin Card!" She shouted triumphantly.

Kero did a little flip in the air. The second house disappeared, and in its place were two adorable looking twin children. There was something inhuman about them, they seemed to radiate a magical energy.

"They want to fight," Kero said.

"Fight?" Sakura asked, clutching her staff to her chest.

The twins leapt at her immediately, punching and kicking. Sakura attempted to fend one off with her staff while dodging the other, but they moved in perfect unison, and soon she was on the ground.

"Kinomoto, what are you—Sakura!" Syaoran's voice came from the house.

For a brief, stupid moment, Sakura blushed because he had called her by her first name. For the second time. The twins saw the opening and both aimed kicks at her head. She closed her eyes in anticipation of the blow—

—that never came. Syaoran had pulled her out of the fray and was not taking on both twins at once.

"Li can't do it by himself, Sakura," Kero shouted, "He needs someone to help him!"

Sakura thought quickly, and pulled out a card: "Release! Mirror! Help Syaoran!"

Mirror took on his form and together they beat back the twins. James and Nicole soon came out to see what all the fuss was about.

"Go Syaoran go!" they cheered.

When the twins fell into the sand, Sakura jumped in and sealed them away. The Twin Card was now hers.

"Bravo!" James said, clapping, "That was cool!"

Sakura smiled at them. Syaoran walked up to her as Mirror returned to its card form. They looked at each other awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

"Let's go back in, shall we?" James said. The two readily agreed.

Inside, the woman had lost all semblance of a smile. Her hands shook as she poured out more tea.

"Hey lady," Kero asked again, "Where do you get all this food from? There's desert around here for miles."

James piped up instead of his silent mother, "From the magic cupboard!"

The four looked at him rather confusedly, but then Kero's eyes narrowed.

"Show us."

As the group trudged down a hallway (the mother had broken several plates and was now cleaning up), Syaoran turned to Sakura and asked,

"Do you think Kero senses another card?" Sakura shrugged.

"Here it is!" his voice sang out. It was a surprisingly plain cupboard made of light wood. The handle was small and made of brass.

He opened the cupboard for all of them so see and said, "I want cherry cheesecake!"

Instantly, cherry cheesecake appeared. Nicole applauded.

"How does it work?" Kero asked, casting Sakura a meaningful glance. She figured that this was another card she would have to guess the name of.

"I dunno, but sometimes it makes not-food too. It makes whatever I tell it to!"

"Aha!" Sakura said, earning strange glances, "The Create Card!"

A small book appeared in the cupboard. Sakura released her staff and captured it. James started to cry.

"I'm so sorry!" Sakura said, dropping to her knees so that they were the same height, "We'll still make you food!"

"Nice going, Kinomoto," said Syaoran. Sakura frowned.

James' mother came in. She seemed to get taller and more terrifying with every step. Sakura and the others backed against the wall, cowering in fear.

"Sakura, don't be scared," Kero said, "It's only an illusion!"

At that the woman became a collection of stars that loosely formed a human body.

"Mom?" James asked. His tears were not even dry yet.

"Don't worry, sweetie, it will be ok," Nicole said, her arm around him.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura shouted, and the Illusion was trapped again in a card form.

Kero shook his head sadly. "They were taking care of this poor kid…"

"I'll do it!" Nicole said suddenly.

Everyone looked at her. Suddenly a huge gust of wind hit the house. They all ran outside.

A huge sandstorm was raging, twisting all the sand around them up into an angry spiral. The hot wind whipped their faces. Everyone turned to glare at Kero.

"You said you sensed a Clow Card ever since we entered the desert?" Sakura asked, an eyebrow twitching dangerously.

"Ehehe…heh.."

DM: Sorry to end it there, but I have so much work to do! Anyway I hope you liked it (I didn't, really). But guess what! Next chapter means the end of OCs for a while! And that means that Sakura and Syaoran's relationship will actually start to progress… Please review!

Next Chapter: I'm Not Useless!


	8. I'm Not Useless!

DM: Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while

DM: Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I have to get my early apps in order. Here is the latest installment of Curses!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc One: Clow Land**

**Chapter Eight**

**I'm Not Useless!**

"Return to the form you were meant to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura shouted.

The Sand twisted and writhed to form the small card in her hand. Sakura fell to her knees on the hot earth, and felt…itchy?

"Wow…" James whispered.

The entire expanse of the desert was now a rolling plain of long grass. A little stream ran through it, even. The hot wind had lessened to a light breeze, and clouds rolled in from the south.

"Who knew?" Kero shrugged.

"Mommy…" James whimpered, looking downcast. Nicole took his hand.

"I'll stay with you," she said smiling.

"But wait, we can't take another kid with us on our quest!" Kero shouted.

"It's ok. You guys can have my bag. James and I will look for a way to get out of here."

She smiled. Sakura looked sad. Syaoran said nothing.

"It was great to meet you, Nicole!" Sakura said earnestly. She took Nicole by the hand and blinked tears out of her eyes.

"I'm sure we'll meet again! Good luck! Oh and Syaoran—"

Puzzled, Sakura and Kero watched as Nicole whispered something in Syaoran's ear. He looked nonplussed.

"Bye guys! Thank you!" James said, waving.

And just like that, they were gone.

"Oh, how awkward…" Sakura said to herself, letting the awkward yet comfortable silence engulf them. It was just her and Syaoran all by themselves…both staring at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, desperate to avoid the other's gaze.

"I'm here too, ya know!" Kero shouted, getting up in her face and successfully shattering the intimate atmosphere. Strangely, Sakura and Syaoran found themselves irritated by his presence.

"Oh, sorry, sorry…" Sakura said as she snapped out of her dazed state of mind.

"Well you should be!" Kero said righteously, "Ignoring the great guardi—"

As the two fought Syaoran stared off into the distance.

"_Don't be afraid to go after what you want…"_

"What did she mean by that?" he asked himself aloud.

Sakura and Kero stopped bickering and came over.

"Oh yea, so what did she say, Li?" Sakura asked mischievously.

"Yea, useless kid, what'd she say?" Kero repeated.

_I want to go home…what else do I want?_ He puzzled to himself. He felt a twinge of irritation as he realized what she was probably implying.

He turned around and walked away from them. They followed him for a bit as he picked up Nicole's infinite bag and walked towards the setting sun. Suddenly, Sakura fell, clutching her leg.

"Ow…"

In the blink of an eye Syaoran had turned around and knelt at her side.

"You're bleeding. You idiot, why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked, examining the large cut on her knee.

"Yo, useless kid! Try not to infect her with your uselessness! You're such a burden—"

Syaoran shut him up by throwing a handkerchief on him. Kero struggled desperately to stay in flight.

"Go wet that in the stream, you stupid stuffed animal!" Syaoran half yelled. He then tried to calm down so that he and Sakura would not switch bodies.

Kero flew off, dragging the kerchief behind him, whining about how unfair life was to him, the great guardian beast of Clow Land.

"I'm really ok, Li, it's not a big deal…"

"It _is_ a big deal, everyone is depending on you to save Clow Land," he said simply as he narrowed his eyes in Kero's direction.

"It's no good, he's getting it all dirty…" he muttered and then began to take his shirt off.

"H-hey, what are you doing?" Sakura asked, scooting nervously away.

"Take it easy, pervert girl. You need a compress," he stated calmly, tying it around her knee and pressing on it.

Sakura felt a wonderful swooping sensation in her stomach, seeing him like that. Shirtless, a little sweaty, with his toned abs and firm chest and a very determined look in his eyes…he looked absolutely stunning and her breath caught in her throat as she thought about touching him like she did in Egypt. She reached out a hand, wanting desperately to feel his smooth skin…

"May I help you, pervert girl?" he asked without looking up at her, smirking.

His voice snapped Sakura out of her, in fact, perverted fantasies and she blushed beet red.

"N-no… Y'know there's probably first aid stuff in the bag…" she said softly, averting her eyes and still blushing.

"But you like this, don't you?" he asked slyly, leaning forward towards her. She stared at him wide eyed and stammered an incoherent reply. His smile grew wider as he pinned her to the ground, all pain in her knee forgotten…

"Oi, you rapist! Get away from my Chosen!" Kero threw the sopping wet and mildly dirtied handkerchief, hitting Syaoran squarely in the face.

"Ugh, stupid stuffed animal…" Syaoran muttered, peeling it off. He sat back and Sakura sat up, breathing a sigh of relief.

Kero and Syaoran began to argue, yelling at each other about who was the more useless. Sakura clutched at her chest, shaking a little. Her heart was beating so fast…but why? She didn't really want him to continue, did she? Slowly, she removed his bloodied shirt from her knee and then gasped.

The cut on her knee was gone. It was as if it had never happened.

Immediately her heart began racing. What had just happened? Was she crazy? What was going on?

"For the last time, you stuffed animal, I'm not useless!" Syaoran shouted, and then felt the familiar dizzy feeling that meant he and Sakura had switched bodies.

"Oi…" Sakura said, rubbing her head. Syaoran's body sure was sweaty…

"Hey… Your knee is healed…" Syaoran said, bending over to look at his knee.

"Yea, I don't know what happened," Sakura said. Kero only stared.

"Ooooh I get it, you guys switched bodies!" with that, he started laughing.

"Kero, this isn't funny!" Sakura shouted in Syaoran's rough voice. This only caused him to laugh harder. She turned desperately to Syaoran, but he was lost in thought.

"This has happened once before," he said, his face completely serious, "I've healed you like this before."

Sakura's jaw dropped. Kero stopped laughing and stared hard at Syaoran, who was tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Sakura looks cute doing that…" Kero said, smiling. Sakura and Syaoran both blushed for no apparent reason whatsoever.

"Still, how is it that I can heal your cuts? I thought I didn't have any magical power…" Syaoran said. Sakura looked irritated.

"Will you hurry up and apologize to Kero, or do you like being in my body, pervert?!"

Syaoran looked her up and down and smiled.

"I look so good."

Sakura sighed and then had a wonderfully brilliant idea. She proceeded to punch herself in the face.

"Woah woah woah! Watch it, that's my body you're dealing with!" Syaoran exclaimed rushing to stop her and causing her to barely glance her face.

"Geez, girl, you break it you buy it!" he shouted at her. She started laughing.

"Whatever…Sorry, stuffed animal."

With that, they both returned to their respective bodies. Kero appeared lost in thought.

"I see, so you're a healer, kid. Maybe you aren't useless after all," he said, stroking his round, yellow chin thoughtfully. Sakura and Syaoran looked nonplussed.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking a little irritated with Kero's mysterious choice of words.

"There are other types of magic, you know," Kero said, crossing his arms, "Not just Clow magic. And it looks like you have some of what's called 'Healing Magic.' This is very rare, powerful magic. I haven't met a healer since Clow was alive. What was his name again?" Kero trailed off, leaving our two heroes to ponder this new development.

From that day forward, Syaoran was in "Special Training to be a Healer for the Chosen".

Which meant, of course, that Sakura was left to herself while he and Kero practiced healing daily.

So,

She captured the pretty and spirited Flower as it attempted to bury her in her sleep with cherry blossoms (how ironic). Her dress was so big and billowy it whipped Syaoran in the face as she returned to her card form.

She captured the cloaked and mysterious Shadow lurking about in broad daylight.

The Silent teleported Kero and Syaoran away six times before they realized what was happening and saw the ninja-like woman with the finger over her lips.

The Sleep card didn't work on any of them, because they all had magic, and so the tiny fairy blew a raspberry at them, revealing its location.

The Rain card, which looked like a little kid driving a cloud, followed Sakura around for half an hour before she realized that it _wasn't_, in fact, just her imagination.

She captured the Power card by offering it food. It looked like a little girl who had been wandering for days.

The Fight, who seemed like a violent girl, almost killed her, but she gave it a good whack in the head, with the help of Power.

But after a week of Syaoran and Kero being off by themselves, Sakura came across a card that was a little harder to catch, the Sword Card.

It happened like this:

Sakura was innocently preparing miso soup for breakfast while Kero attempted to wake up Syaoran. They had set up camp in a small wooded area the night before, when it had drizzled a little. The sky was clear this morning, though.

"Time for morning calisthenics, kiddo!" Kero said cheerfully as he whipped off Syaoran's blankets.

"Eh?" Kero looked around, puzzled.

For Syaoran was not in his bed.

"Li! Where are you?" Sakura called, as she and Kero looked in the surrounding area for him.

Suddenly, he came swooping down at them from the branch of a tree. He wielded a large and ornate silver sword with winged handles and a red jewel at the cross that glowed. Evil was written all over him, but we all know how dense Sakura is, now don't we.

"There you are! Where have you—"

"—Sakura watch out!" Kero shouted. Sakura dove out of range as Syaoran made a huge thrust with his blade.

"Syaoran what are you doing?" she asked angrily, feeling quite shaken at Syaoran's sudden change of behavior. But they didn't switch bodies. What was going on?

"Sakura, he's possessed by the sword card!" Kero yelled, and without further ado, Sakura released the seal.

"I can't get him to stand still!" she exclaimed, using Jump to dodge yet another attack. The poor innocent tree behind her was hacked to pieces.

"You have to attack him!"

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. Attack Syaoran? She couldn't do that. She looked in his eyes, but they were devoid of any recognition.

"Sakura, you have to fight!"

Sakura cringed as the Sword clanged against a boulder.

"Sakura—"

"—No! I can't hurt him!" she screamed. Why was she behaving this way?

She dodged him yet again. How could she get him to stop?

"Syaoran, it's me!" Sakura yelped as he attacked again, "It's me, Sakura, pervert girl, whatever you wanna call me! Can't you see?" she cried hopelessly.

He hesitated for a fraction of a second, but then was on her again.

"I guess I have to…Loop! Trap Syaoran!" she shouted.

Syaoran could no longer move, struggle as he might.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Sword Card!"

With that, the Sword was captured, and Syaoran fell to the ground. Sakura rushed to his side.

"Syaoran! Syaoran, speak to me!" she cried, tears welling up in her eyes.

Kero spread out the cards on the ground while Sakura cradled Syaoran's head in her lap. The miso soup had long since boiled away to nothing.

"Syaoran…"

"What are you doing, pervert girl? I'm not interested in A cups." Syaoran's smug voice came out muffled, due to the fact that his head was pressed in her chest.

"You stupid idiot!" Sakura shouted, and then pushed his head off her lap, his face hitting the ground with a dull (and painful) thud. She ran off, but they strangely didn't switch bodies.

"Sakura, wait!" he shouted, but she was already a good ways away. "She's really fast…"

"Ah. Mirror, Jump, Windy, Loop, Fly, Twin, Create, Illusion, Sand, Flower, Shadow, Sleep, Silent, Power, Fight, Rain, and now Sword. Well done, Sa—"

He turned around to notice a distinct lack of Sakura in the vicinity. Syaoran shrugged.

"I don't know what she's so upset about," Syaoran muttered confusedly to himself.

Kero sighed.

_Boys…_Sakura thought angrily, _How dense can you get?_

DM: Slight cliff hanger there, sorry. Look how many cards she has now! Yay! Thanks for reading, please review and I'll try to update sooner next time!


	9. Brrr!

DM: Hey all

DM: Hey all! I'm sorry, I know it's been awhile, but applying to college really sucks/is eating up my life. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc One: Clow Land**

**Chapter Nine**

**Brrr!**

"What the hell?" Syaoran mused as he followed Sakura's footprints. Now, you may be asking, how can there be footprints if they were just in a forest? Well, as it turns out, about 20 meters away from their campsite, everything was blanketed in snow.

Yes snow, and though it was quite obvious to the casual observer that this was the work of a Clow Card, Syaoran did not think about that in the slightest. What concerned him most was that Sakura had slapped him in the face and run off for no good reason.

Luckily it had stopped snowing, although the trees dripped on him occasionally. Luckily he had thought to put his sweatshirt on before leaving to chase after her. The wood grew denser the further he went in, but a strong feeling of irritation propelled him to find her and ask her just what the hell she was thinking.

"Kinomoto! You idiot! You're gonna get sick!" he shouted. The wind had started to pick up, and he was getting mighty pissed.

Sakura, meanwhile, had taken shelter in a nearby cave and was now crying, her small form huddled in a ball in the corner. She wiped her eyes, noting that it was puffed-up and hot and thoroughly unattractive.

"Why am I so upset? I mean, he was possessed, it's not like he should have stopped for me…" She sighed and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

It was getting dark out, and Sakura was very nervous. She wasn't sure if she could find her way back, especially since it was snowing outside. What was worse, she had this terrible tingly feeling all over her body.

"I wonder if this is what it's like to freeze to death…"

"Sakura! I'm serious! Please come back! I don't what I did, but I'm sorry! Please come back!"

Sakura perked her head up. That voice sounded like Syaoran's, except the wind seemed to be carrying it away from her.

"Syaoran! Syaoran! Are you there?" She yelled back, moving towards the mouth of the cave. Everything was dusky and cold.

"Sakura!" Syaoran's voice was heavy with relief as he ran to her and embraced her. Sakura felt the color rise in her cheeks and her heartbeat quickened. Of course, she wrote it off as being happy to have been saved.

"Sakura…don't run off like that ever again!" Syaoran said, burying his hands in her hair.

"Oh…" Sakura wasn't sure what to do. She had never been hugged this way, much less called by her first name by a boy her own age.

They just stood there for a bit, then a particularly fierce gust of wind hit them hard. Syaoran seemed to come to his senses and let go of her. She felt strangely cold.

"I don't think we can find our way back until the snow clears…" he was saying, shoving his hands in his pockets against the cold.

"Yeah, I was hiding out in this cave." She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him inside.

As they sat down on the hard cave floor, Sakura felt herself blushing again. They were alone together! Not even Kero was around…

"Oi, why don't you create some hot cocoa, Sa-Kinomoto?" Syaoran said, appearing to be very interested in the cave walls. Sakura nodded and released her wand.

"Create Card! Can we have a stove and some cocoa please?" It was so good to be magical. Luckily she had taken to wearing her special Clow Card satchel around her neck (it was one of the more useful items she had found in Nicole's bag). However, that tingly feeling had yet to go away.

"You idiot, you forgot to ask for cups," Syaoran snorted, as a pot of hot cocoa steamed away on the stove.

"Oh, s-sorry." Sakura stared at the floor while calling on Create again in barely a whisper.

"Say, is it ok if I call you Sakura?" Syaoran asked, staring at her. Sakura blushed and wondered how on earth he could be so calm.

"Because I mean, we're on an adventure together and all, and—"

"—Does that mean I can call you Syaoran?" Sakura asked, smiling at him in her usual cute manner.

"I guess so…" Syaoran took a sip of cocoa (it was surprisingly good—no marshmallows though) and looked at the floor. Sakura watched him intently.

"May I help you, pervert girl?"

"Do you always have to say that?'

"Do you always have to look at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you want to bang me."

"As if! In your dreams!" Sakura started laughing, but Syaoran remained calmly looking at her.

"Why did you run off?" he asked seriously.

"Ah…"

"Did I do something to you while I was asleep?" He looked so serious that Sakura could barely stifle a laugh.

"You could say that," she said, smiling at the ground.

"See? I knew you were a pervert!" Syaoran said, smirking. He leaned closer to her, and Sakura turned bright red.

"W-what are you talking about?" she asked, suddenly not feeling like laughing at all.

"I did something inappropriate to you, and you're smiling about it. So that means you must be—"

"—W-W-WHAT?" Syaoran continued to move closer and Sakura was now backed up against the wall.

"Well? What did I do, Sa-ku-ra?" He asked, way too close for comfort. At last, Sakura had had enough.

"You attacked me! You were possessed by the Sword Card and you tried to kill me!" She shouted, holding her hands up in front of her face as if in self-defense.

Syaoran sat back down and turned away from her, suddenly horribly embarrassed. Sakura slid back down to the floor, equally perturbed.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Sakura tried to make conversation.

"Oh, this cave goes down a lot further. Would you like to explore it?"

Syaoran didn't answer. Sakura sighed and got up. It was best to leave him to himself, she thought as she began walking deeper into the cave. She felt the tingly feeling increase with every step.

There seemed to be a light at the end of the cave, but it was very feeble. Finally she came to the source of it, a huge frozen lake hidden deep inside the cave. The tingly feeling was so bad that she could barely concentrate.

"Is this what it means to sense a Clow Card?" Sakura held her staff close to her chest and took a tentative step onto the lake. Something caught her eye immediately. It was a boy sitting in the middle of the lake and holding a candle. However, his legs were completely encased in ice.

"Whose there?" his voice sounded so scared. He had orangey hair and brown eyes, and was wearing a light blue school uniform.

"It's ok, I'm going to save you," Sakura called out to him, wishing she felt as confident as she sounded.

"Clow Card, show yourself!" Sakura shouted. Nothing happened, but something dark seemed to slide under the surface of the lake.

"Lake monster!" the boy shouted. Sakura panicked, but then knew what to do.

"Power! Help me break the ice!" Sakura gave the lake surface a good hard whack with her staff, and it began to crack.

"Hey, wait a minute! I'm gonna fall i—"

The boy was interrupted by the huge whale-like creature that sprang forth from the lake.

"The Freeze!" Sakura shouted, guessing its name correctly. Now, what would melt the Freeze….

"Sakura, you idiot, your hot chocolate's getting cold!"

Syaoran's voice called out from the cave entrance. She knew what to do.

"Create! Make a fire-breathing dragon to fight the Freeze!"

The boy did not seem to like this idea.

"Hey, have you forgotten about me?!" Syaoran and the boy shouted at the same time, as the Create's dragon began aiming fireballs at the Freeze. One connected, and the Freeze was blown back, about to land on top of the boy, who was clinging to a floating piece of ice.

"Aaah!"

Thinking quickly, Sakura summoned Fly, and zoomed the boy out of the Freeze's path. However, she really needn't have bothered, because the card righted itself a good several meters above the lake. When they reached the shore, Sakura found Syaoran standing dumbfounded as the two large beasts duked it out.

"Did you miss me, pervert boy?" Sakura asked, smiling, as she helped the boy stand again. As it turned out, he wasn't the young kid she thought he was. In fact, he was taller than Syaoran. His candle had gone out in the meantime, and he only stood staring dumbly at the two of them.

A huge crash echoed throughout the cave. The Freeze had fallen.

"Return to the form you were meant to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura shouted, and at last the Freeze was caught. The tingly feeling was somewhat abated.

"My hero!" the guy grabbed Sakura in a tight bear hug. "I thought I was a goner for sure!"

Syaoran dropped the cup of hot chocolate. A shard flew and cut Sakura's leg, and she fell, clutching it in pain.

"I'm so sorry Sakura!" Syaoran said frantically dropping to his knees. He grabbed her leg and focused as the guy watched, mildly pissed.

"How dare you hurt my savior!" the guy said, putting his arm around Sakura.

"Eh? It's ok, he healed me, see?" she showed him her leg, "No harm done."

Syaoran and the guy ignored her, glaring daggers at each other.

"Uh…Let's go outside, I wonder if the snow has calmed down at all…" Sakura led the two of them, who had not broken eye contact yet.

It was still snowing outside. Sakura's tingly feeling returned, full force. A Snow card?

She stepped outside tentatively.

"Snow Card, show yourself!" she shouted. The clouds seemed to part, and the Snow card revealed itself in its young woman form. However, Sakura's triumph was short lived, because the Snow sent a shower of hail her way.

"Agh! Windy! Redirect Snow's attacks. Windy and Snow battled together in the sky, and Sakura glanced back at the cave nervously. Syaoran and the orange haired guy seemed oblivious as to what was going on.

"Fly card, help me get up to where Windy and Snow are!" She shouted, and rode her staff up. Windy appeared to be winning, since it was an elemental card and thus stronger.

"Return to the form you were meant to be in, Snow Card!"

Sakura sighed happily as the snow cleared. However, it was almost evening. She flew back down to where the boys were.

"My hero Sakura!" the guy flew to her and gave her another hug. Sakura sighed, embarrassed by his behavior.

"Sakura. We should go back. Kero's probably having kittens about now."

The three began walking back.

"So, uh, what's your name?" Sakura asked, extremely embarrassed by the awkward silence.

"Nakatsu Shuichi," Nakatsu said, winking at Sakura while blocking Syaoran from her view, "delighted to meet you!"

DM: Well that's it for now, folks. If any of you are thinking, "What's Nakatsu from Hana-Kimi doing here?" the answer is….a secret! Please review and I'll update again before next week!


	10. Baby in a Bubble

DM: Hey guys

DM: Hey guys! Sorry it's taken so long. I just recovered from the stomach flu…ick. I'm so glad you guys like Nakatsu!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS

**Curses!**

**Arc One: Clow Land**

**Chapter Ten**

**Baby in a Bubble**

Life with Nakatsu was…

Not easy.

He was always clinging to Sakura, and calling her 'my hero', and he ate a lot and played soccer with pinecones, once accidentally hitting Syaoran in the back of the head. Syaoran hadn't seemed to think it was an accident, but Sakura couldn't imagine what Nakatsu could have against Syaoran. He and Kero both got along great, seeing as they both spoke with Osaka accents and were absolute gluttons. He was a really nice guy, but his presence was nonetheless awkward. When they had asked him how he had entered Clow Land, he had only replied, "I was walking, and then I was in a cave."

The image was laughable, but it seemed to worry Kero. To him, it revealed that they were running out of time.

Remembering all this, Sakura sighed and sank lower in the water. They had been lucky enough to stumble across a hot spring as they traveled. In the interim she had caught the Cloud and the Glow having a party together, which she had been very sad to break up. Nakatsu had really just gotten in the way the whole time, and she had had to use Windy to save him when he accidentally walked off a cliff.

Nakatsu and Syaoran were constantly glaring at each other, though Sakura had no real idea why. She just shrugged it off as too much testosterone.

"Okonomiyaki…" Kero sighed, next to her in the hot spring. Sakura smiled. She didn't know what she would do without Kero to guide her.

She scratched the back of her head, adjusting the towel in which she had wrapped up her hair. The steam from the hot spring rose up in gentle spirals in front of her. Luckily it was in a rocky area in the middle of the woods, with a large rock separating her from the boys.

"Hey, Sakura…d'you see what I see?" Kero said sleepily.

Sakura looked up.

"That depends, do you see a baby floating in the sky?"

"Yeah, in a little bubble."

"Oh, ok."

The two looked at each other and shrieked, "A BABY?!"

Yes, a baby. A blonde one by the looks of it, though they couldn't see it very clearly from their distance.

Syaoran and Nakatsu came running from the other side of the hot spring, wearing only little towels. Sakura shrieked and attempted to cover herself.

Syaoran got a nosebleed and Nakatsu tripped and fell into the hot spring.

Standing up, Sakura ran and got dressed and took off after the baby using the Fly, leaving Nakatsu practically drowning and Syaoran lying on the ground. Kero followed close behind.

"Those kids are such idiots."

Sakura blushed furiously. The little baby looked happy enough, despite the fact that it was about 100 meters from the ground.

"It's a Clow Card!" Kero growled. Sakura only nodded.

The baby came to the top of a plateau, and Sakura stepped off her staff and began running after it. However, something strange began to happen.

The ground beneath her feet was disintegrating. Not good.

"Sakura, watch out for that green stuff!" Kero shouted. Sakura looked down. A green mist was dissolving the ground. She released fly and took to the sky once again.

"What should I do?" Sakura cried desperately. The baby was getting further and further away.

"You have to trap it with something it can't dissolve!" Kero yelled back. Sakura thought quickly, and the perfect card came to her mind.

"Shadow! Capture the mist!" The shadow came out and swallowed up the green mist.

"Return to the form you were meant to be in, Clow Card!" The Mist was captured.

"Let's go, Kero!" Sakura yelled, and the two of them were in pursuit of the baby and the card once more.

"What card is it, Kero?"

"It feels like two cards to me. If we catch up to them it will be easier to tell."

However, it seemed impossible to catch up with the speeding bubble. Sakura thought hard about how she could slow it down. _Bubbles...bubbles… _Sakura thought back to her childhood, when she and Tomoyo had often blown bubbles in the park. The wind would carry them away or bring them back…

"That's it!" Sakura shouted, "Windy, bring the bubble to us!"

The wind blew the bubble towards them and Sakura raised her staff again.

"Return to the form you were meant to be in, Clow Card!" Two cards materialized in front of her: Bubble and Float. Sakura sighed with relief.

Until she realized that she and the baby were now plummeting to Earth.

"Sakura!" Kero shouted, diving after her. Sakura tried to raise her staff, but it was hopeless: the air resistance was too much and she could hardly moved. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact. The baby seemed to be enjoying itself.

Suddenly, she felt something catch her. The baby gurgled happily. Sakura cautiously opened an eye. Several tree branches had wrapped themselves around her waist and were gently lowering her to the ground.

"Woody!" Kero shouted happily. Sakura looked up, puzzled.

"It's a Clow Card?" she asked, more accustomed to mischievous and mean cards. Kero laughed.

"Woody is one of the most gentle cards. It doesn't like to see people hurt."

"Ah," Sakura patted a branch, "Thank you very much."

"Seal it away, Sakura!"

Sakura looked scandalized, "But it's a well behaved card!"

"Yes, but we have to be fair and capture them all," Kero said sagely. Sakura sighed and sealed the card away, finding it much easier than usual

"See? It wanted you to seal it."

Sakura smiled and held Woody to her chest. The baby gurgled again.

"Oh crap. What are we going to do with this baby, Sakura?" Kero asked, flying near it.

A small squeak was heard as the baby grabbed Kero tightly with a chubby hand.

"Wanya!" he shouted happily, laughing. Kero was quickly turning blue.

"Ah," Sakura stepped forward and grabbed Kero out of the baby's hands, "That's Kero! Be nice to Kero!" The baby immediately began to cry.

"Crud. Sakura, make it stop!" Kero attempted to cover his ears, which was futile, seeing as his paws were much too small for that.

Thinking fast, Sakura used Create to make a look-alike Kero doll for the little baby, who then proceeded to squeeze it almost to death.

Sakura picked the little guy up and began walking.

"Where was that hot spring again?" Let's face it; Sakura's never really had a great sense of direction.

"Sakura!"

"My hero!"

Syaoran and Nakatsu appeared, fully clothed this time, waving frantically at her.

"What the hell happened?" Syaoran growled, looking quite silly with the bit of tissue shoved up his nose.

"Are you alright?" Nakatsu asked, stepping closer. The baby practically leaped out of Sakura's arms and into his.

"Papa!" the baby squealed. Nakatsu turned bright red as everyone else stared.

"I didn't know you were a _father_, Nakatsu," Syaoran said quietly, smirking. Sakura stared at him. Why did he look happy?"

"Uh…Psych! I've never seen this kid before, and I'm definitely not a dad," he paused and looked pointedly at Sakura, who smiled obliviously, and then added, "yet."

Syaoran looked ready to kill. Sakura only looked puzzled by this.

"Say, what's your name, kiddo?" Nakatsu continued, ignoring the fumes coming out of Syaoran's ears.

"Ruu!" the baby squealed happily.

Sakura laughed, "He's so cute!"

"He? How can you tell?" Syaoran asked, his anger dissolved due to the extreme cuteness of the baby in question.

And boy, was he cute. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, a chubby little face and a button nose.

"Maternal instinct," Nakatsu said. Syaoran stepped on his foot.

"Well, we'll know for sure soon enough, judging by that smell," Kero said sullenly, still upset about Ruu's prior attempt on his life.

"Good luck with that, _Papa_," Syaoran said, patting Nakatsu on the back. Nakatsu gulped and looked at Sakura for help. She smiled helplessly, shrugged, and then followed Syaoran, leaving Nakatsu to his own devices.

"So what happened?" Syaoran asked, not looking at her. He was clearly still embarrassed about the hot spring incident.

"Sakura caught four cards, kid!" Kero said proudly. Sakura looked like she was about to faint.

"Hey, are you alright?" Syaoran asked, touching her shoulder gently. Sakura looked at him and smiled. He blushed a little.

"I'm fine…"

Syaoran watched her carefully as they continued walking. She seemed to be wearing fewer clothes than he remembered. He shook his head to clear it, thinking it was just his perverted memory messing with him. But when he looked again, she was just in her underwear.

"Hey! Someone help me get back to camp!" Nakatsu's voice rang out in the forest.

"Coming, buddy!" Kero shouted back, and he flew back into the forest without even glancing at Sakura.

If he had, he would have noticed that she was no longer wearing any clothes.

"Oi, pervert girl! Keep your clothes on, for goodness' sake!" Syaoran said, blushing and covering his eyes. Sakura looked down, puzzled and then…

"HOEEEE!"

"It's probably a Clow Card, so please just seal it away!" Syaoran said, turning his back to her.

"Return to the form you were meant to be in, Clow Card!"

The Erase. What a prankster.

Sakura then fainted, and Syaoran had to carry her back to the campsite. However, her last thought before she went to sleep was that Syaoran thought she was ugly, because of what he had said. The thought filled her with a strange sadness.

Of course, what she didn't notice was the kiss he planted on her forehead after he set her down in the cot.

DM: Ok, so that's it for now! If any of you have ever seen Daa! Daa! Daa! you will recognize Ruu, whom I love! Anyway, Sorry that this chapter was mostly Clow Card capturing, but I hope you at least thought it was funny. Next chapter will be funny but will mostly center around Sakura and Syaoran. I already have most of it planned out.

Next Chapter: Fight!


	11. Fight!

DM: Hey all

DM: Hey all! I'm back! Thank you so much for your reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS

**Curses!**

**Arc One: Clow Land**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Fight!**

CRASH! BOOM! RAAWR!

Sakura stood face to face with none other than the…

"Lightening Card!" shouted Nakatsu.

"Goo!" shouted Ruu.

"Thunder Card!" shouted Kero.

The three paused and looked at each other. Nakatsu rubbed his chin.

"But it makes lightening, so why is it the Thunder? What a stupid name," Nakatsu said running a hand through his hair.

"Goo goo!" Ruu affirmed.

Kero only sighed and turned back to the battle in time to see Sakura flung on her back after a huge roar. The wolf/lion/large angry predator form of the Thunder growled as it took a step nearer. Sakura's prone body lay still.

"Sakura, you idiot! Now is not the time to be sleeping!" Syaoran yelled, jumping and pulling her out of Thunder's path as it charged by. It roared and glared at Syaoran. However, Syaoran didn't notice, because he had noticed a small streak of blood coming from Sakura's hairline.

"Why do you make me worry about you like this?" he muttered, placing his hands on either side of her face and feeling the familiar warm tingling as he healed her minor head wound. Her eyes snapped open.

"Gah! Where's the card?" She looked around wildly, only to come nose to nose with the Thunder as it growled menacingly.

"Oh dear," Syaoran mused, as Sakura blindly used Windy to get some breathing room. Her relief was short-lived; however, as Thunder became even more pissed and began to charge.

_Crap…crap…What can I use to contain it?_

The light bulb went on in Sakura's head, so to speak and she called forth the Shadow. Shadow obligingly gathered up Thunder into a ball, and she was able to capture it. She let loose an enormous sigh of relief as the card floated to her hands. She looked over her shoulder at Syaoran, who smirked up at her.

"Thanks," she said, smiling. She then proceeded to give him a light whack with her staff.

"Hey! What was that for?" Syaoran growled, rubbing his head. Sakura giggled.

"Don't call me an idiot so much. I'll start to believe you." Syaoran said nothing, but got up and followed her as they walked back to Kero, Nakatsu and Ruu.

"Great job, Sakura! You looked so lovely out there!" Nakatsu exclaimed, reminding Sakura awkwardly of Tomoyo. Kero gave her a high-five, or something like it, as Ruu attempted to grab the staff out of her hands. Nakatsu glared at Syaoran over the top of Sakura's head.

"What? You got a problem?" Syaoran asked raising an eyebrow. Nakatsu motioned him away, handing Ruu to an oblivious Sakura, who was deep in conversation with Kero regarding dinner plans.

"You have some nerve yelling at her like that when she's injured," Nakatsu said, crossing his arms over his chest. Syaoran calmly regarded him from his lower vantage point, thinking of the best way to set him straight.

"I healed her, didn't I? I do a lot more for her than _you_, cheerleader boy," Syaoran said, smirking. Nakatsu looked angry at the double meaning of the second statement.

"So what is your relation to her, exactly?" he asked, attempting to control his anger. The result was that his face had begun to go a little purple.

"Wouldn't you love to know," Syaoran said, enjoying his advantage. He and Sakura hadn't switched bodies since before Nakatsu even arrived, so he still didn't know about the curse. Syaoran didn't even think he'd believe it.

"Don't be so smart, kid. You're only about her height, anyway. She needs someone taller and older. Besides, according to Kero, she already likes someone," Nakatsu said proudly. Syaoran's ears turned red.

"Don't just assume that I like her, cause I don't! That's just you, idiot," Syaoran said, raising his voice a little bit. Nakatsu smiled. Sakura glanced uneasily in their direction. While her attention was diverted elsewhere, Ruu made another attempt on Kero's life by hugging him too tightly. Sakura turned back to the two, briefly forgetting about Nakatsu and Syaoran as she pondered how to give Kero CPR.

"You're so defensive. I think you _do_ like her," Nakatsu said, smiling down at the now fuming Syaoran. He struggled desperately to control his anger and could only choke out a small" I don't" as a result.

"Oh, I see," Nakatsu drawled, "Well then I guess you don't mind if I take her for myself. She looks so beautiful today, too—"

Syaoran didn't hear the rest of Nakatsu's blathering, because he suddenly found himself in possession of Ruu and Kero, some ten meters away. He looked down and noticed that he now had cute pink Keds on, and thus deduced that he and Sakura had switched bodies.

He stared over at Sakura, now in his body, as she sent him a puzzled look. Nakatsu was currently outlining all the obscene things that he and Sakura could do behind the bushes just to their left, making Sakura, still dizzy from the body switch, very uncomfortable.

"That's enough," she said softly, embarrassed beyond belief and surprised to hear Syaoran's low voice issue from her mouth. Nakatsu looked puzzled, but then shrugged and ran over to where Syaoran (in Sakura's body) was standing.

"Sakura! I'm sorry, we were having a man-to-man talk over there." Syaoran nodded, biting back the urge to say it looked more like a man-to-baboon talk. Sakura's staff went back to its key form, and Syaoran slipped it to Sakura behind their backs as Nakatsu chatted with Kero about the virtues of modern-yaki, their favorite dish.

"What's going on?" Sakura whispered as the two of them hung back.

"Nothing," Syaoran said, looking away from his own inquiring eyes, However, Sakura was a little more persistent than he had anticipated.

"Go apologize to him," Sakura said firmly. Syaoran shook his head, causing Sakura to stop in surprise.

"Don't you want to switch back?" she asked. Annoyed that he had kept walking, she grabbed his arm.

"You heard what he was saying about you!" Syaoran finally replied turning and facing her. It was weird to look at yourself like that. Sakura's eyes widened.

"He was only doing that to tease you, because he knew you'd get—hey, wait a minute. What gives you the right to be mad on my behalf?" she said angrily. Syaoran glared back.

"You're an idiot," he said simply, and turned away. She grabbed him by both shoulders and spun him around.

"You go and apologize to him right now, or I'm gonna tell him about the curse and he's going to tease you like there's no tomorrow!" she said, with the appearance of all the authority that she lacked.

"Like he'll believe you," Syaoran said haughtily, "He thinks you're me, idiot!" Sakura let him go and stared at the ground.

"But if I catch a Clow Card, then he'll know. It will be ok—"

"—No, it won't, because he doesn't know what powers I have," Syaoran said, smirking. Sakura took a step back. She had never seen herself look so evil before.

"B-but Kero will tell him—"

"Not if Kero thinks I'm you!"

"But—"

"No buts. I want to have a little fun with Nakatsu over here," Syaoran said, grinning. He turned and began jogging to catch up with the others.

"Syaoran," Sakura said calmly. He turned around.

"I hate you," she said, staring at him coldly. For some reason, that hurt Syaoran a lot more than he thought it would. But, being a guy (though at the moment he was actually a girl), he shrugged and turned away, pretending that he didn't feel that funny pain in his chest.

What he _did_, feel; however, was a sharp pain in the back of his head. He turned around and saw the magic key on the ground. Sakura continued to glare at him.

"Let's see you try to be Sakura for a while, asshole," she said. She then walked right past him.

All through dinner, Sakura didn't look at him. He pretended to be interested in what Nakatsu was saying, but kept one eye on her at all times. She sat sullenly staring into her food, trying to ignore Syaoran's concerned glances. She had never been so pissed in her life.

Syaoran didn't understand her anger. Didn't she see that Nakatsu needed to punished? How dare he be so interested in her! How dare he stare at her like that, and compliment her like that, and be attracted to her like that!

"Are you ok, Sakura?" Nakatsu asked, leaning forward. Syaoran noted with relief that Sakura's body was not attracted to Nakastu's the way it was to his own. He smiled sweetly.

"Nakatsu, do you have someone you like?" he asked, batting his eyelashes innocently. Sakura almost choked on her food. Syaoran smiled flirtatiously as Nakatsu mumbled something incoherent. His face became as red as his hair and he stared down at his food, utterly embarrassed. Sakura glared at Syaoran, who winked back.

"What was that? I couldn't hear what you said, Na-ka-stu." Sakura made a face at the way Syaoran was behaving, but it only egged him on. He brought his face close to Nakastu's, causing the latter to turn even redder.

"I do like someone," Nakastu finally managed to say after he turned away from Syaoran, "But he likes someone else."

Awkward could not possibly be enough to describe the atmosphere at that point.

"H-he? What's his name?" Sakura asked suddenly, mildly happy that Syaoran was now speechless and utterly uncomfortable.

"Mizuki," Nakatsu replied, blushing again. Syaoran turned to stone and then fell over. Well not literally, but you get the idea. Sakura started laughing.

"Hey you asshole, don't laugh! You like someone who likes someone else, too!" Nakatsu yelled at Sakura. She suddenly remember whose body she was in.

"W-what do you mean? Who do I like?" Sakura asked, smirking at Syaoran, who looked absolutely mortified at the way things were going.

"He likes Meiling!" Syaoran blurted, grasping at straws. Sakura and Nakatsu both stared at him.

"W-what? She's his fiancée, after all," Syaoran said, flipping his hair and prying Kero out of Ruu's clutches. On contact, Kero stiffened.

"Hey, Sakura? Are you feeling alright? Your magic power feels much weaker than usual," Kero said, flying up to feel her forehead. Syaoran backed away so quickly he fell over. Very suspicious. Nakastu ignored them and focused on Sakura.

"Is it true, Li? You have a fiancée?" he asked, determinedly.

Sakura, ignoring the funny pain in her chest, nodded.

"See that's funny, because to me it seems more like—"

"A Clow Card!" Sakura yelled, standing up. The tingly feeling hit her as strongly as ever and she instinctively reached for the key—that wasn't around her neck, because she was still in Syaoran's body.

She glared at him, and he threw his hands up in surrender.

"Nakatsu, I'm sorry," he said, and the world spun out of focus.

Ah, it was good to be home! Sakura quickly released the seal and took to the sky. It had begun to rain, and a lightening bolt barely missed her as she flew up.

Back on the ground, Nakatsu turned to Syaoran and smirked, "See, that's funny, because to me it seems more like you like Sakura."

Syaoran shoved him aside and ran after her, not responding. Nakatsu smiled and nodded at his retreating back. Kero flew up after Sakura and Nakatsu picked up Ruu and followed.

"What the hell kind of card _is_ this?" Sakura asked, dodging hail and lightening at the same time.

"The Storm!" Kero called out to her, before a rather large piece of hail sent him tumbling backwards.

"Kero!" Sakura shouted. She looked around. She could barely see anything—it was like a hurricane.

"That's it!" Sakura flew up and broke free of the clouds, looking all around her. If her science teacher was correct when she was in middle school, there was always an eye in a hurricane: a place where everything was calm. She flew up a little higher.

At last, there, a little ways away, she saw a girl who looked a lot like Rain and Cloud sitting happily in the eye of the storm. Sakura flew over to her and took her by surprised.

"Return to the form you were meant to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura shouted, and the Storm was caught. She paused to breath as the storm around her cleared up.

Syaoran and the rest waved at her from the ground. She flew down to them and stumbled off her staff. Her leg hurt from where the hail had battered it.

"Hold still now, kid," Syaoran said calmly as he healed her leg. Nakatsu covered Ruu's eyes from the blood and Kero congratulated her heartily on figuring it out all on her own.

Syaoran's hands rested on her leg even after it was healed. The two stared at each other. Syaoran mumbled an apology and Sakura smiled.

"You didn't call me an idiot," she said happily. Syaoran blushed and then quickly recovered.

"Well I decided that you're not so much idiotic as oblivious." Sakura's smile faded and she flicked him in the forehead.

"And what exactly am I oblivious of?" She asked, pushing past him and walking back to camp. The rest of the group followed, but Syaoran hung back.

"I don't even know," he said quietly to himself.

DM: Wow that chapter was really long compared to my last like four! Thanks so much for reviewing guys and happy holidays! Hopefully you'll hear from me again really soon!

Next Chapter: Elemental


	12. Elemental

DM: Hey all

DM: Hey all! Thanks so much for your reviews! I'm so glad you liked the last chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS

**Curses!**

**Arc One: Clow Land**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Elemental**

It was a lovely, sunny day. The group was lucky enough to be walking through a meadow that opened up in the woods, with a light breeze blowing in that smelled of the sea. Sakura flopped on the grass in the midday sun between two patches of orange daffodils, gazing up at the sky, where clouds piled up like marshmallows drifted by. Time for a break.

Syaoran set down their enormous pack, which Nakatsu still didn't believe held everything, and Nakatsu let Ruu go chase a butterfly. Kero sighed and sat down on a particularly sturdy-looking blade of grass.

"The sea must be really close by…" Sakura said happily. Syaoran smiled at her, and she smiled back, until Kero suddenly flew up and dashed into the bag.

"What's the deal with him?" Nakatsu asked. He received no answer, because Syaoran and Sakura were staring at the ground, blushing.

"Hey, I said, what's Kero doing?" Nakatsu asked a little louder, giving Syaoran a nuggy.

"Back off, jerk, if you know what's good for you!" Syaoran shouted, standing up and grabbing Nakatsu by the shirt.

"Oh really, well I'm sorry that you were trying to calm your wildly beating heart after such an exciting encounter with your beloved—"

"I'll stop _your_ heart if you don't shut up, asshole!" Syaoran yelled, shaking Nakatsu furiously. The conversation would have continued, but Ruu suddenly let loose a terrible wail. Everyone turned to look, except Kero of course, who was still searching the bag.

"The butterfly!" Sakura shouted.

It had burst into flames.

As if it had been waiting until it had everyone's attention, the fire suddenly spread throughout the meadow.

"Great…just great…" Sakura sighed, as the others frantically tried to keep everything out of the fire's reach.

Sakura ran away from the group, and, as predicted, the fire followed her. Where the Hell was Kero?

"Oh well," Sakura whispered to herself, and released her wand, along with the Fly card. The ocean had to be around somewhere, right?

Wrong. As soon as Sakura entered the sky, she saw that there was no ocean anywhere near them. However, the next breeze that blew in brought the smell of salt water stronger than ever…and some leaves that were on fire.

"Ah! Hot!" She spun out of the way. Down on the ground, the group was surrounded and Ruu had begun to cry. Sakura quickly summoned Float and brought the group up to her level.

"Wha…where's the beach?" Nakatsu asked, looking around wildly. Syaoran sighed and shook the bag roughly.

"You stupid stuffed animal, we're under fire and you're hiding in the bag. Get out here now!"

Kero shot up so fast he hit Syaoran in the face. Nakatsu and Ruu laughed. Sakura would have too, had she not been busy dodging the fireballs coming at her from all directions.

"Shut up kid! I was just getting the map! It's not my fault there's so much stuff in there…" Kero whipped out the map and stared at it for a few moments, "Aha! I was right, there isn't a body of salt water for at least 80 kilometers!" Nakatsu sighed and Syaoran fell over in frustration.

He was quickly back on his feet, and grabbed Kero with both hands, shaking him furiously.

"Then why the hell can I smell the ocean, you stuffed rat! God damn it, a Pikachu would be more useful!" He tossed Kero aside and sat down on the glowing pink balloon beneath them.

"Because," Kero barked, "Clow Land is falling apart! There are some seriously unstable cards in the area!" he waved his stubby little arms frantically to help illustrate his point.

"Oh really," Nakatsu said, casually grabbing a squirming Kero and turning him to face the desperately flying Sakura, "You mean like that?" Kero's eyes popped out of his little head.

"How long has _that_ been there?" He shouted frantically, flying out of Nakatsu's grip and to Sakura's side. The red-haired teenager scratched his head and shrugged.

"Sakura, this is the Firey card! Be careful!" he yelled. Sakura shot him an icy look as she rolled to evade an attack.

"What do you _think_ I've been doing, stupid?" she shouted. Kero was taken aback. Sakura rarely called him names.

"Sakura, I…"

"Save it, Kero, just tell me how to beat this card!"

"Sakura, just use Watery!" Kero yelled.

Sakura stopped in midair and turned to stare at him.

"Who the frick is Watery? I don't have a card like that!" she yelled. She swatted him away, growling, "How dumb do you think I am? If I had a card like that, I wouldn't need you!"

Kero felt tears well up in his eyes. "Sakura, you jerk!" Kero shouted, and flew away.

Sakura suddenly realized her mistake and turned to apologize to Kero.

"Kero, wait! Kero, I didn't mean it, I—" While Sakura was shouting after him, a fireball blazed dangerously close. However, suddenly everything was very wet. Sakura turned around and saw something very interesting.

There was a hole in the sky.

And through that hole was an ocean.

Naturally, Sakura screamed.

"KYYAAA!?"

She, Kero, and the rest of the group were subsequently blow through the hole by a particularly large gust of wind.

They were now flying above a swirling ocean. The fire danced victoriously at the hole, not concerned enough to venture out above the water. Just as Sakura was catching her breath, a fresh danger appeared in the form of water. A huge column of it shot up out of the ocean, and she had to do a back flip in the spray.

"Sakura! Look out!" Syaoran shouted, as more water came her way.

"Augh…I got water up my nose…" Sakura groaned, rubbing her face.

"Sakura, now is not the time! This is the Watery card!" Kero yelled. A blast of ocean immediately swelled up between them.

This was good news, considering they couldn't get back into Clow Land without defeating the fire.

"I know! Freeze!" Sakura shouted.

I don't know about you, but the last time _I_ tried to freeze an ocean, I pretty much failed. Such was the case with Sakura. However, she did manage to make Water pissed enough to show its true form, a hissing, spitting fish-girl thing.

"Try something different! You need to trap it to capture all of it!" Kero yelled. Sakura only nodded. Nakatsu and Ruu were doing a little cheerleading dance, while Syaoran watched her anxiously.

"Alright, Windy! Make a huge spiral to trap all of Watery!" Sakura shouted, readying Freeze on the side.

Watery did not look happy as it was swept up into the tornado above the ocean's surface. Without any more water to draw upon, it was practically helpless.

"Freeze! Trap Watery!" The Freeze dutifully froze up the column of water, and Sakura was finally able to capture the card.

"Thank goodness…" Syaoran sighed. Nakatsu and Ruu cheered.

The ocean calmed, and the fire at the hole began to look very agitated.

"Quick, Sakura, sign your name on it! We have to capture the Firey now, so we can get back in!" Kero called out to her, flying towards the hole into Clow Land.

"Right, now I can just use Watery!" Sakura yelled, releasing the card happily. Watery burst through the hole, taking Firey aback, and the group was able to make it back into Clow Land.

The two elemental cards duked it out above the ground, while everyone stepped into the now-charred meadow.

"It's not enough," Kero growled. Sakura looked worriedly up at the two cards. It seemed to be an even match.

"Watery needs help!" Sakura cried out, musing about which card to choose. Before she could come to any conclusions, a stray fireball came heading her way.

"Look out!" Syaoran shouted, pushing her down as the fireball rushed past.

"Syaoran! Are you ok?" Sakura said, looking up at Syaoran with wide eyes. He smelt of burnt hair and blood and dirt were now smeared along his temple. He only smiled and nodded.

"No time for sex, kids, Sakura needs to release another card!" Nakatsu's voice called out to them, clearly hiding his laughter as best he could.

They were off each other faster than the eye could see. Kero flew over as Firey and Watery clashed again.

"Sakura! You need to release Windy!" Sakura nodded and obeyed.

However, Windy and Watery weren't working together very well. Sakura looked at Kero desperately for help.

"Sakura you need to focus them on the same goal, that's the only way that they can work as one!" Kero said. Sakura's eyes widened. She looked over at Syaoran.

"That's what he means, Sakura! Please focus on the battle. Syaoran's not going anywhere!" Nakatsu called, snickering. Sakura turned bright red.

"Ha! As if I'd be worrying about _him_…" Sakura said casually. And, ignoring Syaoran's scoff, pointed her wand up and focused all her magical energy.

_Work as one. Please, work as one, _she prayed silently.

Sakura couldn't help but smile as Watery and Windy swirled together and trapped Firey. It was with particular satisfaction that she caught the card.

Of course, she then fell over from sheer exhaustion.

When she came to, about half an hour later, Syaoran was standing over her with his hand on her cheek.

"Syaoran…what are you doing?" She asked sleepily. Syaoran blushed and jumped, fumbling his hands together.

"I…uh… You had a scratch on your face," he finally said, turning away from her, "Just thought I'd take care of it for you."

"Oh, thanks, I guess…" Sakura said quietly, sitting up and looking around.

"Well, yea, I mean you can't really stand to be any uglier…" Syaoran said, smirking at her from over his shoulder.

He was promptly punched in the face.

"Jerk…" Sakura growled, standing up and dusting herself off. Nakatsu was making dinner, while Kero sat happily.

"Kero," Sakura said, getting on her knees and bowing, "I'm sorry that I spoke so cruelly to you earlier. I really do need you, Cerberos."

Kero smiled and patted her head. "Don't worry about it, Sakura."

Everyone then sat to dinner, feeling in a good mood.

"So, uh, Kero," Nakatsu said between mouthfuls of ramen, "You wanna tell us about that trans-dimensional warp thingy?"

"Well," Kero said, _through_ a mouthful of ramen, "I rearry wroudn't carr it dat," he swallowed, "Think of Clow land as like this big balloon floating over the world, and when the Cards went out of control, the magical energy generated by them wears the balloon thin, and sometimes a hole is created. The presence of two elemental cards is definitely enough to open up a hole to the real world."

"So is that how I got here? A hole in the balloon?" Nakatsu asked, and then drained his bowl.

"I don't think so. It seems to me like you were just able to pass _through_ the barrier, which tells me only one thing."

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

"We're running out of time," Kero said dramatically.

"What do you mean by that?" Syaoran said, angrily slamming his bowl down.

"I _mean_, you moron, that if we don't catch all the Clow cards soon, Clow land will disappear!"

"No!" Sakura shouted, "What about the people living here?"

"If you've noticed, they think they're still living wherever they were. I don't think the real world would surprise them too much….I hope…"

"You're talking as if the battle's already lost, stuffed animal. Way to have faith," Syaoran said. He stood up and walked away.

"Syaoran, wait!" Sakura called after him, and stood up too to chase him. Syaoran turned and let her catch up to him.

"Please don't walk away like that," Sakura said softly, looking at the ground.

"Sakura, how could I ever just leave you by yourself?" Syaoran said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You really mean that?" Sakura said, looking into his eyes. He smiled.

"Of course. We are _cursed_ after all."

He was then slapped…once _again_. Smooth, Syaoran, _very_ smooth.

Sakura was about to walk away, when the earth began to shake.

"Sakura, watch out!" Syaoran said, pulling her away as a stalagmite burst up from the ground.

"Fly!" Sakura flew up and circled as Syaoran ran back to camp. Sakura watched as he ushered them towards the woods.

_The woods…nothing's happening around the woods…_

"That's it! Woody!" Sakura yelled. Slowly, the vines took root and calmed the trembling earth.

"Sakura, it's Earthy! Quickly, capture it!" Kero yelled.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura shouted, and struck her staff on the earth.

The Earthy card was all hers. She signed her name on it with great satisfaction.

Suddenly, Kero began to glow.

DM: Alrighty, so there's chapter 12! Sorry if it was a little confusing, but the whole trans-dimensional thing is a little difficult to explain. Thanks for all your reviews, guys, they really keep me going! Next chapter: If I Don't Sing, I'll Die!


	13. If I Can't Sing, I'll Die!

DM: Hey all

DM: Hey all! Sorry it took so long to update, but I had exams…But guess what, I'm now a second semester senior! Yay! I'm so happy that this fic finally has 100 reviews! Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc One: Clow Land**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**If I Don't Sing, I'll Die!**

"Kero, what's happening to you?" Sakura asked in alarm. Kero's wings grew extremely big, and then closed around him like a cocoon.

"What's happening?" Syaoran asked. Nakatsu stared. Ruu giggled excitedly.

"Chillax, guys, it's alright," Kero said, his voice coming out much deeper than usual.

The wings spread apart, and standing before them was a large winged yellow…dog? Lion? Bear?

Ruu and Nakatsu applauded.

"Kero, you're so cool!" Nakatsu cheered. Syaoran and Sakura stared at each other.

"Ah, it's good to be my true self again," Kero said, stretching in a very cat-like manner and yawning. Opening one eye, he caught sight of Syaoran's awestruck face and sniggered.

"So, kid, who's the little stuffed animal now?" he said in a low growl, approaching Syaoran menacingly. Syaoran turned to Sakura, and asked, raising an eyebrow and pointing at the Guardian Beast:

"Sakura, what the Hell is that thing?"

Sakura shrugged. Kero fell on his face.

"Sakura," he whined, "You don't recognize me? I'm your beloved Kero! Cerberos, the Guardian Beast of Clow Land!"

Sakura looked taken aback.

"But Kero's slightly more compact," she said. Kero looked extremely miffed.

"Fine, be that way, Sakura. But I guess since I'm a total stranger, I can go ahead and tell Syaoran that you said his name in your sleep last night, and—" Sakura dashed over and clamped both hands over his mouth. He smiled.

"Ok, ok I believe you! It's just—what happened to you?"

"Now that my two best cards, Firey and Earthy, have been captured, I can take my more powerful form again. Before they ran away and misbehaved, I was like this all the time…"

Nakatsu brought Ruu over to pet him. Syaoran edged over to Sakura and nudged her.

"So last night in your sleep you said my name?" he asked slyly. Sakura's ears turned red.

"Yes, Syaoran, I did," she said, turning away cutely.

"Aw, Sakura, I didn't know you felt that w—"

"Because in my dream you stole my okonomiyaki, you jerk!" she yelled, turning and punching him in the arm.

"Hey! I didn't _actually_ do it, so why am I being punished?" he asked, throwing his arms up in defense.

"Because I feel like it," she said firmly, and then walked away.

She didn't get very far, because at that point she fell asleep. Catching so many cards at once is very tiring, you know.

Syaoran watched her sleep and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She was really cute when she wasn't yelling at him…

Nakatsu watched Syaoran's actions with a smirk on his face. _Kids_, he thought. The fact that they were the same age had seemed to slip his mind.

Insert Line here

"The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout," Nakatsu sang, doing the little hand motions that go along with it. Ruu laughed happily in his papoose.

"Oi, Mother goose!" Syaoran grumbled, "Isn't it your turn to carry the umbrella?"

Nakatsu stuck his tongue out at the irritated Chinese boy, who growled in response.

"Syaoran, you know very well that he can't do that while he's holding Ruu like that," Sakura said. Kero nodded in agreement.

The five of them were currently walking under a large umbrella that Nicole had conveniently left in her bottomless bag. The papoose was in it too, strangely enough. ("I tell ya, Clow thought of everything!" Kero had said when they found it)

"Then why don't _you_ carry Ruu for a change?" Syaoran snapped. Sakura turned away from him.

"He likes Nakatsu the best, so he should be carried by Nakatsu. It's cruel to make a child separate from the one they like the most," she said resolutely, smiling at Ruu and reaching out to stroke his head. He shied away from her.

"You're just making excuses because he doesn't like you at all," Syaoran said in a sing-song voice. Sakura's eyebrow twitched.

"You shut the Hell up, Syaoran! Ruu does like me! After all, I _am_ the only female here," she said proudly, drawing herself up to full height.

"Like he can tell that…" Syaoran said softly.

"What did you just say, you jerk?" Sakura said, finally turning around and facing him angrily.

"Nothing, Miss Flat-Chested!" he said, sticking his tongue out.

"You little punk!" she shouted, making a grab for him.

And then finding that she _was_ him. They had switched bodies.

"Ahaha my little plan worked," Syaoran said gleefully, stretching, "Now I don't have to carry the umbrella anymore."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Syaoran," Sakura said.

They switched back.

"God damn it," Syaoran said, back in his own body.

"You know, you moron, that would have worked if _you_ had gotten angry instead of me. Then you would be the one to have to apologize," Sakura said, laughing and tweaking his nose.

"Hey! That's a great idea! Make me mad, Sakura!" Syaoran said happily.

"Hahaha good luck with that," Sakura said. Then she walked into Nakatsu's back.

"Hey, Nakatsu, what's the holdup?" Sakura asked, peering around him. Nakatsu was staring down an extremely deep and scary looking gorge.

"Wow, what a huge canyon!" Kero said, flying out a little ways and getting completely soaked with rain.

"Yea, but tell me, do you guys see that guy over there?" Nakatsu asked, pointing to the other side of the gorge. The rest looked, and sure enough, there was a guy standing on the ledge, staring down to the bottom.

"He's not thinking of—" Syaoran started to say, but then the man jumped.

"Fly!" Sakura shouted, and jumped down after him.

"What the Hell is this guy thinking?" Syaoran grumbled. Kero silenced him by raising a paw.

"I feel the presence of a card lingering on him," he said softly.

Sakura flew back up the cliff, the man lying unconscious on the staff. When she brought him up they laid him flat and examined him.

He was older than they were, but still quite young. He had his black hair tied in a ponytail and wore a tattered vest and fingerless gloves. His pants and shirt were dirty but had probably once been black. His eyelids fluttered.

"Hey, I think he's coming too," said Nakatsu, leaning a little closer.

The guy opened his eyes, and then sat up quickly, looking around them suspiciously.

"Are you ok?" Sakura asked. He scooted away from her.

"Hey, she's talking to you. What the Hell were you doing?" Syaoran asked, grabbing his collar and giving him a little shake. The man looked away.

"Syaoran, don't be mean. Can you talk?" Sakura asked gently. The man shook his head.

"It's just as I feared," Kero said, and the group backed away a little to let him into the circle.

The man didn't seem to like this new arrangement very much, and tried to move away from the giant winged beast in front of him.

"Take it easy, I'm not gonna eatcha," Kero said, waving a paw at him, "We can help you."

The man arched an eyebrow skeptically.

"We can help you get your voice back," Kero said firmly.

"We can?" Nakatsu asked. Kero fell over.

"Of course we can, it was taken by a Clow Card!" Kero yelled.

"A Clow Card? Which one?" Sakura asked.

"The Voice card. It steals the voice it likes to hear the most," Kero said wisely.

"Why the hell'd that guy make a card like that anyway?" Syaoran grumbled, "So troublesome…"

Kero let the bag slide off his back, and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. He handed them to the man, who took them happily.

'Thank you' he wrote.

"Now then, let's start with the basics. Tell us your name, and where you think you lost your voice," Kero said, sitting down and motioning that everyone else do the same.

"I'll start making lunch…" Sakura said softly, watching the man as he wrote. This wifey attitude towards the guy did not please Syaoran at all.

"Also tell us why you jumped off that cliff," Syaoran said spitefully.

The guy faltered, but only for a moment.

"Syaoran, how rude," Nakatsu said, glaring at him. Syaoran stuck out his tongue at him.

'Takuto Kira. I lost my voice while singing in the meadow. And for the smartass holding the umbrella, if I can't sing, then I'll die.'

"Oh, so I'm a smartass, am I?" Syaoran said, waving the umbrella menacingly. Nakatsu stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

"I apologize on Syaoran's behalf. You see, he's very sexually frustrated and doesn't know what he's doing sometimes…"

"Who's sexually frustrated?" Sakura asked, looking up from the little stove. Syaoran stuck the giant umbrella in the ground and rolled up his sleeves.

"Why, Syaoran, of course," Nakatsu called back. Takuto smiled and Syaoran took several threatening steps towards Nakatsu.

"Too true," Sakura called back. Syaoran fell over.

"You jerk, why do you always have to gang up on me!" Syaoran yelled.

"Now, now, try to remain calm," Sakura said knowingly. Syaoran fell silent.

Kero placed a paw on Takuto's forehead and concentrated.

"You lost your voice only a couple hours ago."

"That means the card could still be there!" Sakura said happily.

"Let's go!" Syaoran and Nakatsu said.

Sakura used Create to make a bride across the gorge and they ran out to the meadow.

"I can feel the card's presence all around me!" Sakura said, spinning around trying to find it.

"Relax, Sakura, it's here. We just need to lure it out," Kero said.

"With what?" Syaoran asked, miffed that he again had to carry the umbrella.

"My beautiful singing, of course," Kero replied happily.

Everyone fell over. Kero looked around, confused, but then shrugged and began singing:

"Yo-ho yo-ho a pirate's life for me!" Everyone covered their ears, and Voice's aura got a little fainter.

"Yo, stop, it's getting scared away!" Syaoran yelled. Kero stopped, albeit reluctantly.

"Let me try, 'Ghost ride, ghost ride, get out the way let Casper drive!'" Syaoran began rapping. Mildly pathetic.

"Syaoran, you won't lure it out with _rap_, let me, 'Wouldn't it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn't have to wait so long'" Sakura started singing.

However, there was a problem.

Sakura is tone-deaf.

Meaning that she cannot distinguish between notes.

Meaning that her singing is horrible.

During this melee of song, Ruu had been tugging on Nakatsu, trying to get his attention. When he finally looked, Ruu was doing a little hand-motion like a spider…

"That's it! 'The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout, down came the rain and washed the spider out,'" Nakatsu sang.

Everyone turned to look. A small glowing orb was materializing in front of him.

"That's the card!" Kero yelled. Sakura dashed over quickly.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" she yelled, striking the orb with her staff and sending Nakatsu scurrying away in fear.

"Hey, my voice is back!" Takuto said, "Now maybe Chii will come back to me…"

"Chii? Who's Chii?" Kero asked, confused.

"I don't know, but she comes when I sing. She looks like the girl in Chobits, which is why I named her 'Chii'" Takuto said proudly.

"That must be the Song card," Kero said. Sakura nodded.

"How can we catch it?" Syaoran asked.

"Simple. Takuto, sing."

He began singing, and it was the most beautiful thing Sakura had ever heard. She stared at him intently. Syaoran was not pleased.

Slowly, just like the Voice card, the Song card materialized, singing in harmony with Takuto. She really did look a lot like Chii from Chobits. Sakura raised her staff and, whispering, so as not to interrupt the song, sealed the card. Takuto was once more singing alone. When he finished, he turned and smiled at Sakura. She blushed a little.

"I'm sorry, please have dinner with us to make up for this—"

A hole opened up behind Takuto, and swallowed him up.

"Hey, that looked like Tokyo," Nakatsu said.

"Crap, we're almost out of time. As we speak, Clow Land is ejecting all the human beings who have no business here," Kero growled.

"What the Hell for?" Syaoran asked, irritated.

"It's preparing for its dissolution. We have to hurry and capture all the cards before they leak out into the real world—"

"—Let's worry about that later. Right now I'm starved," Sakura said. She was a little disappointed that Takuto had disappeared so quickly.

Kero and Nakatsu snapped to it. Only Syaoran lingered behind.

"Hey, umbrella carrier, get a move on!" Nakatsu called back. Ruu attempted to say umbrella, but instead said "arugula" which is also a word, so it sort of counts.

"Coming…" Syaoran said, taking a step forward.

He would have continued, but something was clinging to his foot. He looked down and saw the most unbelievable thing:

A little girl was clinging on to his foot for dear life. When I say little, I mean, shorter than a blade of grass. And he only assumed it was a girl due to her long strawberry blonde hair, which was all he could see from his vantage point.

"What the Hell?"

A papoose is kind of like a backpack except you put babies in it. Nakatsu is wearing one that attaches to the front.

DM: Well, that's all for now, guys! I know, I have all these visitors from other animes entering all the time, but you know you like it! We're approaching the end of Arc One very soon, aren't you excited? Now then, Next Chapter: Too Little Too Big


	14. Too Little Too Big

DM: So I'm back again

DM: So I'm back again. Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews! Arc One is drawing to a close. This will be the last visit from another anime (boohoo).

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or any of the other animes/mangas referenced in my fic.

**Curses!**

**Arc One: Clow Land**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Too Little Too Big**

"What the Hell is that?" Syaoran asked softly, pointing at the little girl who was holding on to his shoe for dear life.

When I say little, I mean about 17.2 cm.

Sakura turned around rolling her eyes, but then saw what he was pointing at.

"It looks like a person," Sakura said calmly.

"It sure does," Syaoran replied.

Then they both started laughing.

"A person! What a joke!" Sakura choked out. Syaoran nodded in agreement, laughing out loud.

"Guys, what's the hold-up?" Kero asked, flying over.

"Hey, Kero, I must be hallucinating," Sakura said, wiping her eyes.

"It looks like a little person!" Syaoran said, bursting into a fresh peal of laughter.

Kero did not seem to find this as funny as the other two, and so flew down to where the small girl was.

"Need help?" Kero asked, extending a paw. The girl at first was shocked by the fact that a stuffed animal was talking to her, but then decided it would be better to take the help offered.

Kero, being about 5 cm taller, was able to lift her and fly up to the palm of Sakura's outstretched hand.

"Still think it's so funny, kid?" Kero growled at Syaoran, who looked appalled.

"What's your name? You are very cute!" Sakura said to the little person. The girl smiled and was about to say something when a deep voice boomed across the meadow:

"KOIZUMI, WHERE ARE YOU?"

The girl crouched down and got in the fetal position, a look of abject terror on her face.

"Who was that?" Nakatsu asked, walking back to join the group.

Ruu noticed the little girl immediately and made a grab for her, only to be intercepted by Kero.

"Oh no you don't," he said. Ruu looked miffed.

"So your name is Koizumi I take it?" Nakatsu said, extending a finger, which she shook politely.

"I'm Sakura, and that's Nakatsu and Ruu, and that's Syaoran and Kero," Sakura said, pointing everyone out in turn. The friendly atmosphere was then ruined by the sound of an impossibly large footfall.

"Run. Now."

Everyone obeyed Syaoran and began running, terrified, as a huge wind blew the rain clouds out of the sky. Ruu was very happy with this development, but Koizumi had once again assumed the fetal position.

Once satisfied that they had run far enough, the group stopped to catch their breath, and Kero glared at Koizumi.

"What's going on, girlie?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Koizumi fidgeted awkwardly.

"That's Otani," she said softly. Everyone looked non-plussed.

"I'm sorry, but why is Otani a giant?" Sakura asked.

"Well, you see, we were just walking along, bickering like we always do, when we saw this lady and her daughter. They were dressed like clowns," Koizumi said, clearly very shaken. Kero's eyebrow quirked.

"Clowns, you say?" he asked, mildly annoyed.

"Yea, with big pointed hats that went off in two directions, and shoes where the toes curl up, and—"

"That's enough," Kero said, holding up a paw, "I know who you're talking about. It's the Big and the Little cards." This last sentence was directed mainly at Sakura.

"Oh, so where are they?" Sakura asked. Koizumi shook her head.

"I don't know. We were in the city when it happened. Syaoran and Nakatsu stared at each other.

"Then the Clow Cards are beginning to leave Clow Land," Kero mumbled, "Oh, I wish Yue was here…"

"We need to go back to where we found you, Koizumi, so I can capture the cards and get you back to normal," Sakura said, smiling reassuringly. The tiny girl looked scared at the thought, but nodded.

The group retraced their steps and were soon rewarded by a booming, yet nervous laugh.

"Very funny, Koizumi, but where are you?" Otani's voice rang in their ears.

Finally his feet and legs came into view. He was very clearly as tall as three houses. They couldn't see his face from the ground.

"Syaoran," Sakura said, reaching out and taking his hand, "I need you to do something for me."

Syaoran gulped and blushed in anticipation.

"I need you and the others to go up there and talk to him. Make sure he doesn't walk around."

That most certainly was not what he was expecting. Stunned, he only took in what she said _after_ she had summoned the Float and he was on his way up.

"What the Hell is this?" Otani said, picking up Syaoran by the back of his shirt.

"Put me down, you red-haired idiot!" Syaoran shouted. Otani looked slightly taken aback.

"Eat him!" Nakatsu shouted. Syaoran gaped at him, only to have him yell "Don't mess with red-heads!"

Their conversation continued much in the same fashion for a while.

Back on the ground, Sakura, Kero and Koizumi were running around frantically (well, Koizumi rode on Kero's back) to find the Big and the Little.

"They like games, Sakura. If you propose a game, maybe they will come out," Kero said, after five minutes of fruitless searching.

"Ok, uhm, Hide and Go Seek!" Kero and Koizumi slapped their foreheads.

"Sakura, you idiot—"

"—I'll hide, and _you_ seek!" Sakura shouted. Turning to Kero, she whispered, "See? I'm no dummy."

"We'll see about that. Quickly, hide. They won't start until you do," Kero said.

Though Sakura wasn't even sure that they had heard her, she used Jump to hide up in a tree. Otani was laughing high above her.

"Nothing to do but wait…" she said to herself, and sat still.

Being a descendant of Amamiya Nadeshiko, Sakura began to fall asleep almost immediately, despite the fact that she was in a tree. In her state of half-dream, half-reality, she thought she saw a little girl, about Koizumi's size, on the branch with her. She was dressed…

"Like a clown!" Sakura said loudly, waking up. The little card glared at her, and then jumped and touched her magic staff. It immediately began to shrink to about one-tenth of its size.

"Oh no!" Sakura said, trying frantically not to drop it. The little card laughed and then whistled. That's when a lady, similarly dressed, showed up. She was tall enough to reach Sakura in the tree without even standing on tiptoe. She tapped her lightly.

Sakura began to grow to about twenty-times her size.

"Crap!" she shouted, and her voice came out booming like Otani's. In fact, she was soon face to face with him. He and Nakatsu were having a nice chat.

"Sakura, dear, what have you done to yourself _now_?" Nakatsu called.

"Shut up, now's not the time for jokes!" Syaoran snapped at him, "Sakura, where's your wand?"

Sakura "threw" the really, really, _really_, tiny wand that she had been cupping in her hand at Syaoran, and it hit him squarely in the face with a rather large velocity in the Syaoran's-face direction. When you take physics, you'll get the joke better.

"You moron!" Syaoran shouted, and then found himself in Sakura' body.

Sakura, happily in Syaoran's body, tapped the little wand to the Woody, and the tree immediately grabbed the dancing Big and Little. Sakura smiled happily. Nakatsu looked thoroughly confused.

Sakura, still borrowing Syaoran's body (much to his dismay) leapt from the safety of Float's bubble while asking Woody to catch her. She struck the air, and the two cards were captured at the same time.

Woody let her gently go to the ground, while both Otani and Syaoran (in Sakura's body) shrank back down to normal size, and Koizumi grew again.

Poor Kero had received almost no warning, and was consequently crushed under her.

"I'm sorry," she and Syaoran both said. Sakura and Syaoran switched back to normal.

"Sorry, Syaoran, but it was the only thing I could think of," Sakura said, patting him on the shoulder. He shrugged, and was about to reply, when Nakatsu, Ruu and Otani came running over.

"Koizumi!" Otani shouted.

"Otani!" Koizumi replied, as both ran to each other, open armed.

Upon watching their embrace, the gang realized that Otani was in face shorter than Koizumi. By a lot.

Nakatsu began laughing. He couldn't help it. The couple broke apart, embarrassed, and then POOF they were gone.

"That was quick," Syaoran said. Nakatsu laughed some more, and pretty soon Sakura and Syaoran joined in. That was their weirdest adventure yet.

"Now, Sakura," Kero said, "We are running out of time."

Sakura nodded.

"Hey guys, how long has it been since we began traveling together?" Nakatsu asked, removing Ruu from the papoose.

"Oh…I don't know, actually," Sakura replied.

"Hmm…I wonder how much time has passed in the real world…" Syaoran said.

It was pondering these things that the group settled in for the night.

DM: Hey guys, sorry that that was short, but next chapter is the end of Arc One, in which Sakura will capture two cards (I won't say which), everyone will return to the real world, and we'll see what's going on with Tomoyo, Eriol, Meiling and Sakura's family! Next Chapter: What a Story


	15. What a Story

DM: Hey guys

DM: Hey guys! Sorry that I haven't updated in a long time, but this chapter is really really long so I think that makes up for it. Thank you for your reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc One: Clow Land**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**What a Story**

Clow land was unraveling.

The travelers watched as the generic landscape they had been traveling vanished behind them and took on a gray formlessness that allowed them to see the real world.

"I feel like a ghost," Nakatsu said one day while they were walking towards a card. It was an extremely powerful card, because the area was really foggy and they kept bumping people who recoiled, not knowing who was there.

Ruu was sleeping in his little papoose and Syaoran was carrying the bag. Kero flew alongside Sakura, who was trying to use her key as a directional guide in the fog.

"Maybe we are real, but all these other people are ghosts," Syaoran said, smirking at the stiffness of Sakura's back at those words.

"M-maybe," she said in a very high-pitched voice. Kero shot Syaoran a dirty look.

"Here it is," Sakura said. She still hadn't looked at Syaoran, who was slightly miffed. For some reason, he liked to tease her to provoke her, to get her attention.

They had come to a gigantic cherry blossom tree. They couldn't tell if it was in the real world or not, because everything around it was just shapeless gray.

"Which card is it, guys?' Nakatsu asked, looking puzzled, "Sakura already has Woody."

Kero nodded and Sakura reached out a hand to touch the tree.

"Don't!" Syaoran said suddenly, grabbing her hand and pulling it back. She looked confused. Syaoran shook his head.

"I have a bad feeling about this tree. Don't touch it, or something bad might happen to you and I…" he trailed off, not sure what to say next, his hand still gripping hers tightly.

Sakura smiled and squeezed his hand back. They looked into each other's eyes.

"Don't worry, Syaoran. I will be all right. I have to do this so that you and I can be normal again, and so that we can all go home," Sakura said resolutely. She dropped his hand and stepped towards the tree to place her hand on it.

Her hand passed through the tree, and the rest of her with it, and then she was gone. Inside the tree.

At that moment, Clow land decided to eject everyone out.

First, Ruu disappeared, then Nakatsu. The gray covered them and then POOF, just like all the other random friends they made, they were gone. The question was where.

"Apparently, Sakura doesn't need us anymore…" Syaoran said softly as the gray surrounded him, Kero and the tree as well.

When Tomoyo arrived at the Chinese high school in Hong Kong, she was extremely tired and irritable. This was mostly due to the fact that the night before had been spent tracking Sakura down only to find she'd run off to Egypt with some guy, and transferring schools along with her for her sake.

Sakura would never understand why Tomoyo went to such great trouble for her, and that was fine with Tomoyo. Now some _boy_ had decided to take her away and they had left her here to clean up the mess with the professors etc, etc.

Nothing would have improved her mood except the immediate and expeditious return of Sakura. Tomoyo sighed, not really wanting to think about it anymore.

Tomoyo arrived at the Chinese high school in Hong Kong approximately one hour earlier than necessary in order to check in properly with the office and all that other stuff. However, she was crippled by a terrible sense of direction and could not find the office.

After wandering around in the hallways with the same cheap linoleum floors as in her old high school, Tomoyo heard voices.

Intriguing.

Perhaps this was the way to the office.

Tomoyo quickened her pace and came upon a corner. The vague voices seemed to be whispering around it. She poked her head around and immediately hid back behind the first wall.

A couple was locked in a passionate kiss in a little corridor branching from the main hallway. Disgusted yet further intrigued, Tomoyo peeked once again.

The couple hadn't noticed her. The boy had blue hair and glasses that were awkwardly (and painfully) pressed up against his face by the woman. She was a little taller than him and had long brown hair. Tomoyo was about to turn away and walk in the other direction, assuming that it was merely two teachers, but then noted with some alarm that the boy was wearing a school uniform and the woman wasn't.

Tomoyo felt as though she was going to gag. She could sort of understand why a man would demean himself and enter a romantic relationship with a female student, because in her mind men were creatures that lived off sex.

That a woman would allow herself to be used in such a way was completely ridiculous.

She then looked at her watch and noticed that she had only a half hour left and that people were coming down the hallway. When she looked up again, the teacher and the boy were walking nonchalantly together down the main hall in front of her, amidst the arriving students.

"Thanks so much, Ms. Mizuki. I understand logarithms a lot better now," the blue haired guy said smugly. He looked over his shoulder and saw Tomoyo staring at him, appalled. He smirked and winked.

Tomoyo sighed and asked a student passing by where the main office was. The boy looked very happy at being spoken to by a pretty girl and even walked her there himself.

"Hello," she said softly to the busy receptionist, "I'm here to register for this school. I'm Tomoyo Daidouji and I just transferred here from Japan."

Her Chinese was pretty much fluent since her mother had had her tutored in seven different languages. Why? Because she felt like it.

As the mundane paperwork was taken care of, Tomoyo looked around the walls of the neat, clean office. A large poster caught her eye that had, in big bold writing: "STUDENT-TEACHER RELATIONSHIPS WILL RESULT IN EXPULSION OF BOTH PARTIES INVOLVED. NO EXCEPTIONS" across the top.

Nice. Tomoyo decided to keep her mouth shut about what she had seen earlier for the time being.

There were other posters as well, no smoking, no leaving campus in the middle of the day without permission, etc, etc. She sighed.

This was the start of the newest phase of her life.

Sakura was not quite sure where she was or how she got there. She was in what looked like an apartment. Outside was the hustle and bustle of the Egyptian marketplace from which she had begun her journey.

"Hello?" she said cautiously, "Is anyone home?"

She heard a rustling of robes as a tall man with dark hair in a braid entered the room.

"Ah," he said, just noticing Sakura, "You're a little early. You weren't supposed to find me this quickly…" he trailed off and began pacing in front of her.

"Uh, sir?" Sakura asked, confused. The man stopped pacing and took her hand.

"I'm sorry, how very rude of me. Let me introduce myself. I am Clow Reed," he said smiling, "And you are Sakura Kinomoto, who will inherit my cards."

Sakura gulped. This was quite a surprise.

"I'm sure you have lots of questions," he said, leading her into a sitting room, "so let's begin."

"How did I get here? Where is here? I thought you were dead, sir," Sakura blurted out all at once.

"Take it easy. You are in the past in Egypt. You got here by using the Return card, most likely. I am indeed dead, but not yet," he said all this with a warm smile.

"Clow land is unraveling, Mr. Clow, and there's nothing I can do. I failed you," she said softly.

"Now now," he said gently, taking her hand in a fatherly sort of gesture, "You haven't failed at all. I knew all along that I didn't make that dimension sturdy enough. I needed to allow travel between the two worlds to help you on your journey. I trust you met some interesting characters."

Sakura nodded. Out of nowhere, teacups and a teapot materialized in front of them, and Clow began pouring tea. As Sakura thought carefully about her next question, she glanced around at her surroundings. The walls were stucco and whitewashed, but hung with many red and gold tapestries. She was sitting on an ottoman, while he was in a large armchair of reddish brown leather. The room smelled of incense and was filled with little gold gizmos and what looked like archaeology equipment.

"If I was your Chosen One, why did you curse me and Syaoran?" she asked, getting a little annoyed at the memory.

"Hm? I don't know who this Syaoran is. Did you like my curse? Clever, wasn't it?" Clow asked, smiling.

Sakura was confused. Syaoran was part of the curse, too.

"To answer your question as to why, several things in Clow land would require male strength, so I figured, why not make it so that she turns into a boy when splashed with cold water, and turn back into a girl with hot water? Great idea, huh?" Clow said. Sakura paused.

"But that's not what happened," she said softly, tilting her head to one side. Clow's smile faltered.

"The curse from your fountain made it so that I switch bodies with Syaoran whenever one of us gets mad…" she continued, looking down. Clow laughed.

"Well that's not so bad, is it? It could have been much worse, what with pollution and things nowadays," he said, brushing it off lightly. Sakura's eyebrow twitched.

"But how do we return to normal?" she asked, getting irritated with his nonchalant manner.

"Oh I have no idea," he said cheerily, "I suppose you'll have to ask the other me for that. I set up some clever tricks for people who fall into that fountain to help them find him."

Sakura could not ask what he meant by that because the room began to go gray like Clow land.

"Ah, time's up I guess. You should seal the card now, Sakura. Don't worry, you're doing a great job, and I'm sure you'll catch the rest of the cards," he said, waving at her.

Sakura released her wand and raised it to strike the gray matter around her. Clow's apartment had disappeared.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow card!" she shouted. The Return formed itself in ribbons of smoke in front of her. Then everything went black.

Sakura had yet to return from Egypt with Syaoran, so Tomoyo had to deal with her first day of school on her own. Things were pretty bad, to be honest.

Firstly, she had found that the teacher she had seen that morning was her homeroom teacher, and the boy her classmate. Nice.

When she got up to introduce herself, the blue haired boy was making kissy faces in her direction, though she knew very well to whom they were directed. She ended up having to sit next to him, and learned that his name was Eriol Hiiragizawa.

Eriol gave a sideways glance at the new girl in school seated next to him. He recognized her to be Sakura's friend, but did not understand why _she_ would transfer and follow her friend all the way to Hong Kong.

Sakura had had to transfer because she and Syaoran couldn't be separated, and besides, as Eriol knew very well, Clow cards would be waiting for them here.

He didn't like this girl at all. He could sense an interfering, overprotective nature in her that repelled him instantly. She was going to mess up his plans as the reincarnation of Clow Reed. He had to make sure that she was separated from Sakura and Syaoran as much as possible when they returned from Clow land, which would be in approximately seventeen more hours. They would have only been gone for two days, real world time, but with several months of magical experience under their belts.

The girl noticed him looking and looked back with equal hostility. The way her eyes slid to the teacher and back to him again confirmed his suspicions. Her look told him this: "I know what you do. I know that you're a bad person, a dirty person and that you will be expelled."

However, Eriol was not worried at all, and used his magic to open a window and make the wind blow Kaho Mizuki's skirt up a little. He smirked and looked at her frankly while the rest of the class blushed with embarrassment.

Tomoyo looked disgusted.

Sakura woke up back on the bed in Egypt, with Syaoran's face just above hers. He jerked back quickly as she opened her eyes and smiled at her, attempting to be casual.

"Good, you're awake. You should sign your name on that card," he said, turning to prod Kero and wake him up as well.

After Sakura had gone inside the tree Syaoran appeared back in the hotel room with Kero next to him. He looked around, and it appeared that they were back to the exact time that they had left, only Syaoran looked like he had been living outdoors for several months. Had he always been this tall? She wondered. Her eyes scanned over his now-tanned face. He seemed different…what was it?

Sakura had appeared a moment later, clutching the Return card in her right hand and sound asleep. Syaoran had watched her for the hour it took to get her awake.

"Where are we?" she asked, sitting up and looking around. It was a white stucco room like Clow's, but drawings hung on the walls and there was a TV in front of the bed. Syaoran was sitting at a little table. He handed her a pen and she set to signing the card. Kero snored loudly.

"We came back to just before we left," Syaoran said, looking away because he'd realized for the first time that Sakura's clothes were so torn that they had become very revealing. A warm blush spread across his nose from cheek to cheek.

"When your mom gets back, we should probably go home. We need to start school," Sakura said, poking Kero stiffly with the pen. At last he woke up.

"Oh, Sakura, did you get the card?" he asked, flying up to her and then noticing that they were not in Clow land anymore.

"I did. It seems Clow land is gone," she said.

"So this is the real world, eh?" Kero said, strutting about on the table, "cute. I like it."

Sakura laughed and Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"Kero, how many cards are left?" Sakura asked, her laugh dying in her throat as she realized that, without Clow land to contain them, the cards could be anywhere.

"There are sixteen left," he said, examining the embroidery on a pillow, "And don't worry, they'll go to wherever the magic is the strongest, and right now, it's Hong Kong."

At that moment they heard the key click in the room as Syaoran's mother came in. Sakura whispered for Kero to pretend to be a plushy, which he did immediately.

"Sorry, kids, I—Syaoran! I'm gone for five minutes and the two of you are a mess!" she shouted.

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other and sighed.

As Yelan carried on for a bit, Sakura looked down at herself. She too sported a deep tan. She felt her calves…were they always so hard and muscular? She was athletic, but…

Syaoran watched her, also ignoring his mother's lecture. He felt a strange twinge of disappointment that they were no longer alone, yet at the same time he was relieved that she had made it safely. She had really given him a scare…

Yelan left the room in a huff, realizing that no one was listening to her. Sakura sat back down on the bed. It felt like it had been ages since she last slept in a proper bed. She clenched a fist.

There were still so many cards left.

DM: Whew, that was super long! I hope that that filled in some of the blanks and stuff. If you found something confusing about this chapter, please ask me and I will edit this chapter until it is perfect. Think of it as a season one finale type of thing. Please review!


	16. How Dreamy

DM: Alright, so I'm back with another chapter for you guys

DM: Alright, so I'm back with another chapter for you guys. Now we begin Arc Two of Sakura and Syaoran's journey! Are you guys pumped? I'm sure you are.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc Two: Hong Kong**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**How Dreamy**

Tomoyo sighed as she stood waiting for someone to answer the door. She was on the front step of the Li mansion, where she had been told Sakura was staying.

_With that _boy, she thought rather angrily. She had been waiting for over five minutes. The house was so huge, nobody had heard the doorbell ring most likely.

She sighed again and looked around. Jasmine climbed around Doric columns along a Mediterranean style veranda. It looked rather out of place in the midst of Hong Kong.

Tomoyo watched a butterfly drift slowly from flower to flower and then turned back to stare at the door. The butterfly alighted on her shoulder, but she did not notice at all.

Because suddenly, everything seemed to glow a soft pink, and she heard a soft voice call her name from behind and giggle. She turned around rapidly.

"Sakura!" she called happily. And there she was. Sakura, wearing a cute sundress and waving at her from the bottom of the steps.

"Come on, Tomoyo!" Sakura shouted, extending her arms. Tomoyo, in her excitement, leapt from the top of the steps into Sakura's arms.

However, it wasn't Sakura who caught her. Whoever it was (Tomoyo couldn't see, since her face was buried in their chest), set her on her feet firmly. She looked up and found the face she least wanted to see.

"Hello, Daidouji!" Eriol said happily, "I hate to be a drag, but could you tone down the crazy just a little please?" he snickered at his own joke.

She turned away, embarrassed and outraged. She had just imagined it, then? That was weird. Maybe she actually _was _crazy.

"Did you ring the doorbell yet? Or were you too busy hallucinating?" Eriol asked snidely, stepping up and ringing it. A voice came over an intercom hidden in the wall.

"Hiiragizawa, that girl is unauthorized to enter," the voice said curtly. Eriol chuckled and looked at Tomoyo, who was fuming. So that was why she'd been made to wait.

"You can't really blame them, since people want to assassinate Aunty Yelan and stuff," he whispered to her, and then said loudly, "It's ok, she's with me. She is a friend of Kinomoto."

Tomoyo didn't bother to ask how he knew that and walked in as soon as the door opened. Eriol smirked at her as he watched the butterfly follow her in.

_This will be interesting_, he thought, _I wonder which other people's desires will be revealed._

Feeling Eriol's eyes on her, Tomoyo felt a sick sensation in her stomach. She wondered what he thought of her strange daydream. She scratched her head. It had seemed so real, she was now unnerved…

Sakura, Syaoran and Kero were sitting on Syaoran's extremely large bed, contemplating the Clow Cards and discussing what to do about the curse.

"Well, so we know that the lead to Egypt was to get Sakura to enter Clow land, which means that…" Kero was saying.

"It means that we're back where we started with the curse, and have a whole new headache on our hands," Syaoran finished. The three sighed.

So Sakura and Syaoran were stuck in this body-switching state until they could find Clow's last descendant. In the meantime, they had to finish catching the Clow Cards, which were probably going to mess around just as much in the real world as they did in Clow land.

"Kero," Sakura said sadly, "I'm sorry we couldn't save Clow land…" she looked down. Syaoran put an arm around her and Kero patted her hand.

"Look on the bright side, Sakura," Kero said, "Clow's descendant will come to you when you have finished capturing the cards, most likely."

The thought gave both her and Syaoran some hope that maybe they would be free of this curse. They hadn't switched at all since they got back, though, which was good.

The door burst open, and Eriol strode into the room, followed by a still fuming Tomoyo. Syaoran unconsciously tightened his grip around Sakura's shoulder and Kero pretended to be a stuffed animal.

"Oh, are we interrupting some private time, Syaosyao?" Eriol asked, sneering. Syaoran quickly withdrew his arm from around Sakura and blushed. Sakura didn't notice and ran to Tomoyo.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo said happily, hugging her friend, "where have you been the past couple of days?"

"In Cl—Egypt." Sakura said, laughing nervously.

"Are they taking good care of you here? Are you cured of the curse? Come on, let me see your room!" Tomoyo said, and in a whirlwind the two girls had left the room, leaving the boys alone with Kero (whose face was getting sore from pretending to be a toy).

Eriol watched the butterfly pause on the edge of the bed and turned to Syaoran.

"So, have you done it yet?" he asked. Syaoran turned bright red and threw a pillow at him.

"Don't say perverted stuff like that!" he yelled. Eriol chuckled.

"What's the dealio with you and that girl, dear?" Eriol asked, picking up one of the Clow Cards and examining it.

"We're just friends," Syaoran grumbled.

"That's not what I meant. Why is she living in your house, dumbass?" Eriol asked, setting the Card down, "Cute tarot cards, bro. Real manly."

"Shut up! Those are hers! And this wouldn't be an issue if we weren't cursed!" Syaoran barked back, snatching the cards out of Eriol's reach.

"Cursed?" Eriol asked, raising an eyebrow. Syaoran turned pale. He hadn't meant to tell Eriol that.

"Yea, we're cursed to switch bodies whenever we get really angry. We stay like that until we apologize. It's terrible. So, until we find the descendant of this dumbass Clow magician guy thing, she's going to live here." Syaoran said, sighing and arranging the Cards in a neat stack.

Eriol did not particularly like being called "the descendant of this dumbass Clow magician guy thing," but for the sake of his own entertainment kept quiet about it.

"But you were mad at me just then," he pointed out. Syaoran shook his head.

"I told you, it's not just plain irritation that does it, we have to be _mad_. Anyway, there were a bunch of clues that led us to Egypt, but they were a dead end, so now we're back here."

"Why here?" Eriol asked. Syaoran sighed.

"Because the dumbass at the fountain said the last place he saw the descendant of Clow was through a god-damned magical forest that led us back to this stupid house. Blargh," he replied, flopping back on the bed.

"Interesting story. Maybe I should ask Kaho, she might know what to do—" Eriol began.

"Number one," Syaoran cut him off, "don't call Ms. Mizuki 'Kaho.' It's gross. Number two, you can't tell anyone, or I'll kill you."

"One out of two is all you'll get. Kaho's asked me to move in with her," Eriol replied smugly. Syaoran covered his face with his hands.

"Sick, you pervert."

The butterfly alighted on Syaoran's toe, but his hands remained over his face.

"Syaoran…" Sakura's voice came from the end of the bed. Syaoran sat up quickly.

"Sakura?" he asked. She was sitting on the edge of his bed, in her underwear. He gulped. He could have sworn Eriol was sitting there a minute ago.

"Syaoran," she said again in a very seductive tone, and moved towards him, "I want you to embrace me, Syaoran." She brought her mouth to his.

Suddenly, she grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him furiously.

"Syaoran, what the Hell's the matter with you? You know I don't swing that way!" Eriol was saying, barely suppressing a grin.

"Wh—what?" Syaoran asked, confused. In the chaos, the butterfly flew out of the room.

It went just a few doors down the hall and into Sakura's room, where she sat talking to Tomoyo. They were sitting on her large pink and white bed. The bed posts, chairs and writing desk were all cherry wood, and the walls were a pale and tasteful pink. She had just finished explaining the nature of the curse (of course, she wasn't going to tell Tomoyo about Clow land, at least, not now).

"So what are you doing here, Tomoyo? The class trip ended yesterday!" Sakura exclaimed, taking Tomoyo by the hand.

"Touya called and said he wanted me to transfer with you," she replied. That was true, but he needn't have asked, really.

"This is great! With you and Syaoran, I won't be lonely at all!" Sakura said happily. Tomoyo smiled.

"Oh, Touya said he'd come to visit soon, so prepare yourself, Sakura," Tomoyo added. Sakura blushed.

"Will Yukito come too?" she asked.

She still liked him a little; after all, she had only spent a few months in Clow land.

"I think so," Tomoyo said knowingly, ignoring the twitch of pain she felt thinking about it.

"So, who is that other guy in the room with Syaoran?" Sakura asked. The butterfly was circling the chair, unnoticed by the two girls.

"Oh, he's bad news. You don't want to get involved with him," Tomoyo said curtly, looking away.

"Daidouji," Eriol called from the hallway, "it's not nice to talk about other people behind their backs."

He and Syaoran entered the room, Syaoran carrying a limp Kero in one hand. He handed him over to Sakura.

While Syaoran and Tomoyo introduced themselves, Kero whispered, "Sakura, there's a Clow Card in this room."

Sakura looked around rapidly and saw the butterfly. But she couldn't capture it with Tomoyo and Eriol in the room!

"Kinomoto," Eriol said, taking her hand, "I'm Hiiragizawa Eriol. It's a pleasure to meet you." He kissed the back of her hand.

Both Syaoran and Tomoyo looked extremely miffed at that development.

"I think I'll be taking my leave now," Tomoyo said abruptly, standing up.

"I'll see you out then, Daidouji," Eriol said, smirking and standing up with her. The two left the room. In the meantime, the butterfly had landed on Kero, unseen by both Sakura and Syaoran.

Alone at last, Syaoran turned to Sakura to say something, but she had released her staff and was now hunting for the butterfly.

"Sakura?" Syaoran asked, puzzled.

"Shh," she said, "I'm looking for the Clow Card."

Kero flew onto Syaoran's face.

"Okonomiyaki!" he shouted. Syaoran grabbed him and shook him fiercely

At that moment, the Card shot out from its hiding place to make a mad dash for the door, but Sakura caught it in her hand.

The room faded and she now stood in an old park back in Tomoeda. Syaoran was there, and so was the strange man with the long white hair she had seen in a dream once. Syaoran was walking towards her with a determined look in his eyes that made her blush.

"Sakura, I love you," he said softly. Sakura gasped, her eyes widening. He then began shaking her shoulders furiously.

"Wh-what?" she asked. They were back in the room.

"Sakura, capture the card!" he shouted as if he was repeating himself.

Sakura looked at her hand and saw the butterfly flapping its wings in vain trying to escape.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" and with that, the card transformed into a mysterious-looking woman and was caught.

"The Dream," she read aloud when the Card returned to her.

"Ah, the Dream. The Dream can show you your most powerful dreams. For example, the things you desire most," Kero said, his stomach rumbling with hunger, "In some cases, the dreams from Dream are prophetic, too."

Syaoran, after hearing that, turned bright red and fled from the room without saying anything.

Kero stared after him, dumbfounded.

"That was weird," he said, turning to Sakura.

She stood blushing as well, staring at the floor.

_I like Yukito, don't I? _she wondered.

DM: So how did you guys like that start of Arc Two? I hope that it summarized the story so far adequately. I should tell you that from here on out there are some cards that in the anime we never see Sakura actually capture (ie the Libra, the Wave etc) that I will show her capturing. In fact, the Libra is going to be really important throughout Arc Two. Please review!


	17. Schooltime Drama, Part One

DM: Alrighty, so here's another chapter for you

DM: Alrighty, so here's another chapter for you! About Syaoran's pervertedness in the last chapter: in the manga/anime he was only 10 years old, but in this fic he's 17, which means that it's normal for him to be a little pervy (all boys are like that). Anyway, thank you for your lively reviews on the subject.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc Two: Hong Kong**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**School Time Drama, Part One**

When Tomoyo woke up the next morning she didn't recognize her surroundings. The room had white walls, and her bed had a yellow comforter—not like at home, where everything was her favorite lavender. She sat up quickly, panicking, but then calmed down when she heard the voices coming from downstairs. Now she remembered, she was staying with some relatives of hers, a nice couple who had two calico cats instead of children and liked to play mahjong.

"Tomoyo, it's time for school!" Auntie called. She was a round-faced woman with curly black hair, while her uncle was tall and thin and had gone completely gray.

Tomoyo called back and then got up to get dressed. She caught sight of her own reflection as she changed.

It was true, she observed, she had a very womanly figure, just like Auntie had said upon seeing her. But how she loathed it. She wished she had been born a boy. Then it would be okay to love Sakura the way she did. That's not to say that she was sexually attracted to her, but only that she was sure she loved Sakura the way a man loves a woman.

She sighed and heaved on her uniform. She would have to go to school with that idiot again, but at least Sakura would be there, albeit with that random guy. Tomoyo had invited her to stay at her place, but Sakura had declined, saying that she and Syaoran needed to be close to each other because of the curse.

As she ate her small breakfast, Tomoyo wondered what had happened on their trip to Egypt. It was only a two-day trip, but they seemed to be so close now. Was it the curse's doing?

Of course, Tomoyo didn't know that they had spent several months on an adventure in an alternate universe, or even that Kero and the Clow Cards existed. And, not knowing all this, she headed out to school.

Waiting for her outside was Sakura, Eriol, and What's-His-Face. Tomoyo's ears turned red as she realized that she had forgotten his name.

"Syaoran, don't tickle me!" Sakura was whining, as Syaoran laughed at her.

"It's your fault for making fun of my hair!" he said, tickling her more. She giggled helplessly. Was it really her fault his hair stuck straight up in the morning?

Tomoyo looked away, feeling a little nauseous. Her eyes fell upon Eriol, who was watching them with the air of a parent. She wrinkled her nose. Just because a teacher was infatuated with him, he thought himself so adult, did he?

"Good morning, Daidouji!" he called out, smiling, as she walked up to the group.

"Tomoyo!" Sakura said happily, taking her arm. Tomoyo could suppress a smile of satisfaction.

_I win,_ she thought, looking over at a downcast Syaoran.

"Good morning everyone," she said politely. They began walking towards the school.

Syaoran watched the girls walking, arms linked, ahead of him wistfully. Sakura looked good in the uniform, too. He had been surprised when they returned from Clow Land at how pretty she was in normal clothes, having gotten used to her dirty adventurer appearance.

"Yo, buddy, are you ok?" Eriol asked, smirking and following Syaoran's gaze to the swish of Sakura's skirt.

"I'm fine, just shut up and walk," Syaoran curtly replied. They were almost at the school.

Once there, the usual columns of girls lined up to wish him good morning. He ignored them, as usual. Eriol spoke for him shamelessly, as usual.

"Syaoran! Look this way!"

"You're so cool!"

"Good morning, Syaoran!"

Rang out from the crowd that slowly formed. Sakura and Tomoyo were pushed aside by the swarming fangirls, but Syaoran grabbed Sakura's hand to keep her next to him. He had done it on impulse, but immediately regretted doing so. The crowd hushed all around them.

Suddenly, it came to Sakura's attention that all eyes were on her. Or, more specifically, on her hand, which rested comfortably in Syaoran's familiar palm. A menacing whisper rose out of the crowd. Tomoyo, thinking quickly, grabbed Sakura by both shoulders and ripped her away from Syaoran.

"Sorry sir, we didn't mean to bump into you!" she said, bowing. Sakura bowed as well. Then they both ran through the crowd, which parted ways to let them go. However, all they heard were sighs of relief and "Oh, so they don't know each other" on their way.

"That was a close one, eh, Syaoran?" Eriol said, smiling at him. Syaoran growled and took steps to follow them, but the crowd pressed in.

"Syaoran, That girl was so audacious!"

"Syaoran, we love you!"

Syaoran looked down for a moment, then yelled:

"Will you leave me alone? And who gave you permission to call me by my first name? Get out of my way!"

The girls were a little taken aback, and got out of his way. Taking long, powerful strides, he went the same direction as Tomoyo and Sakura, though they had disappeared into the main building already.

"Sorry, girls, he has an upset stomach this morning!" Eriol excused cheerfully as he followed Syaoran to the school.

Tomoyo and Sakura, meanwhile, were catching their breath in the hallway. They noted with relief that no one had followed them and then began walking to the office to get Sakura checked in.

"Who knew Syaoran was so popular?" Sakura wondered aloud. Tomoyo flinched and stopped walking.

"Hey, Sakura," she asked, "Why do you call Li by his given name?"

Sakura fumbled for a reason and looked away. She was a very bad liar.

"W-well, we agreed that since we're stuck together for the time being, we ought to be good friends!" she said, turning around happily. After all, that was the truth…minus a few details.

Sakura dashed into the office to avoid looking Tomoyo in the eye. The other girl only sighed and followed her in. In the office was the same receptionist Tomoyo had spoken to, and a teacher getting some coffee. Tomoyo cringed as she realized who the teacher was by her ridiculously long brown hair.

"Hello, I am Kinomoto Sakura!" Sakura introduced herself readily. Tomoyo beamed proudly as she watched the receptionist sway to her charms and put the two of them in the same class.

Just as Sakura was signing the school's oath, Syaoran and Eriol at last made it to the office. Eriol noticed Kaho right away, but said nothing as Syaoran asked Tomoyo if there was any trouble. Tomoyo shook her head. Kaho turned around and noticed Eriol.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite class disruptions," she said, smiling at him and Syaoran, "have you come to escort these pretty girls?" she asked, winking at Eriol.

He returned the wink but only nodded in reply. He couldn't bring himself to call her 'Ms. Mizuki', even if other people were around. Syaoran looked extremely uncomfortable. Tomoyo quietly left the room. Kaho soon did too.

"Hn? Where did Tomoyo go?" Sakura asked, turning away from the desk. Syaoran was staring pointedly at the poster that forbade student-teacher relationships, and Eriol was smiling amiably at him.

"Oh, I'll go get her," Eriol said, "Syaoran, show Sakura the way to our classroom."

Sakura was so startled by the speed with which Syaoran ushered her out that she didn't even protest. Eriol walked out slowly and turned in the opposite direction from the classroom. He found Tomoyo staring off into space, thinking about God knows what. She hadn't noticed Sakura and Syaoran rush out, though she had been meaning to watch for them.

"Hello, Daidouji," Eriol said smugly as he approached her. She jumped away from him immediately.

"That's not nice," he said, "Do I disgust you?"

Tomoyo nodded before she could stop herself. Eriol grinned, then grabbed her hands, slamming them above her head and pinning her against the wall.

"Well listen, Daidouji. I don't care what you know or suspect about me, because I know you will keep my secrets," he whispered menacingly. Tomoyo frowned.

"Why the hell should I, you pervert?" she asked quite calmly.

"Because," he said, bringing his face close to hers, "I know yours. I believe that _you're_ the pervert here, and I will tell your precious Sakura about that longing that you harbor for her. If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut about me, you lesbian."

Every word stung her. Her knees began shaking. But she would not cry.

"Now then, _Tomoyo_, let's go to class," Eriol said smugly, releasing her and walking towards the classroom. She followed, her eyes focused on the floor.

"And cheer up, you're ruining my reputation as the funniest guy on campus," he called over his shoulder. Tomoyo suppressed a growl.

Back in the classroom, Sakura was forced to endure several hate-filled gazes as she walked in behind Syaoran.

"Uh, thank you Li for showing me here," she said feebly.

Syaoran suddenly turned around and smacked his hand down on a poor unsuspecting person's desk.

"Don't do that, Sakura! Don't let _them_," he pointed at the group of girls giving off vibes of intense animosity, "make you pretend like we don't know each other! Don't run away like you did this morning," he said more softly now, "I didn't like it."

Sakura smiled at him. Syaoran really was a good guy. He led her to his seat and gestured to the one next to him. They sat down and he began telling her what they were studying at the moment, to get her up to speed.

Meanwhile, the small cluster of girls had grown angrier at the special treatment this newcomer was receiving from their beloved Syaoran.

"Sakura," one of them whispered, "She's Japanese? She's no good for Li."

The others rushed to agree.

"Something needs to be done. The only one we recognize is Meiling, since she is his fiancée and it is only natural that they know each other well," another said.

The door opened once more and Eriol walked in with Tomoyo trailing listlessly behind him. No one seemed particularly concerned, mostly because everyone knew about Eriol's relationship with the teacher.

Unfortunately, Eriol had an uncanny way of knowing one's secrets, so he and Kaho would likely remain under the administration's radar for the rest of his high school life, which constituted about two years at this point.

"Ah, Sakura, in all the excitement I forgot something," he said cheerily, fishing around in his bag. Tomoyo dropped into her seat.

"Is it a present?" Sakura asked, standing up and getting all excited.

"You could say that," Eriol replied softly.

Syaoran looked away, pretending not to care but secretly listening intently. Eriol finally pulled out a small notebook.

"This is for you. Please think of it as a welcome present," he said as he handed it to her.

Sakura examined it closely. It was a day planner in a pale shade of pink. Very cute.

"Thank you very much, Hiiragizawa—" she began.

"—Call me Eriol, please," he interrupted, holding up a hand.

"Eriol, then. I will use it every day." She gave him a big smile. Syaoran resolved to buy her something ten times cuter the next time he had the chance. Tomoyo stared at his evident jealousy.

Sakura and the others sat at their desks as the time drew near for class to start. The girl sitting in front of Sakura, who had blue hair tied in braided pigtails, turned around in her seat to face the newcomer.

"Hello, I'm Zhilan," the girl said, smiling, "What is your name?"

Sakura smiled back, "I'm Sakura," she said.

"Well, Sakura, I hope we can be good friends from now on. I like you a lot already," Zhilan said.

As she said that last sentence, Sakura felt something get terribly warm under her hands. She looked down on her desk and saw that the day planner was glowing angrily. She glanced around to make sure no one else had noticed and then shoved it into her bag.

Syaoran watched her hastily hide something and wondered what it was.

"Syaoran!" a girl's voice called from the hallway, "Are you in class yet?"

At the doorway appeared Meiling, Syaoran's fiancée. She wore loose socks in the Japanese style, her hair still in the odangos from before. She smiled haughtily at her.

"Meiling, go to your own classroom! The teacher will be here any minute!" Syaoran barked back in irritation.

"No need to get all huffy about it," Meiling said as she completely ignored him and sat down atop his desk.

"Oh it's this girl again, huh?" she said haughtily, pointing a finger at Sakura. Sakura tried very hard to remember her and suddenly blushed.

_We kissed, didn't we, the first time I was at Syaoran's house…_ Sakura thought, totally embarrassed. Meiling flicked her on the nose.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked. Luckily, the teacher came in and Sakura was spared from answering.

"Watch out girlie," she called as she left, "Syaoran's _my_ fiancé!"

Syaoran groaned. Zhilan exchanged looks with other girls in the room and together, they all nodded.

That Sakura had to be taken care of.

DM: Whew, so that's the first part. I had the choice of giving you one super long chapter a week from now, or a chapter now and a chapter later, so yea I picked the latter. Anyway, please review!


	18. Schooltime Drama, Part Two

DM: Hey again

DM: Hey again! I'm on break, so I'm posting extra fast for you guys! Just a note: I didn't want to have to spoil the story for you, but you guys have sent me so many concerned reviews that I have to: **This fic will be ExT**. Yes, EriolxTomoyo, so you can all relax. I'm actually really happy that you guys care enough about my story to do that. Thanks so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc Two: Hong Kong**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**School Time Drama, Part Two**

Sakura was trying her best to keep up with the teacher (her Chinese was mediocre at best), when a loud stomach rumble emitted from her school bag.

Everyone turned around and snickered. The teacher pretended not to notice, but the corner of his mouth twitched tellingly. Sakura turned bright red. She turned to Syaoran, who raised his eyebrow in a way that said: 'Oh, you're _so_ ladylike!' Sakura pointed furiously at her school bag, mouthing: 'It wasn't me! It came from my bag!' Syaoran snorted.

She had gained Zhilan's attention at this point. No one had ever been able to make Syaoran so much as smile except Hiiragizawa. The blue haired girl gripped her pencil tightly as she doodled a picture of Sakura getting eaten by a shark.

Tomoyo, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention. This was unusual, seeing as she was ordinarily a good student, but she was glaring daggers at one Hiiragizawa Eriol. He glared back. The students around them felt strangely cold without knowing the reason.

Such is the dynamics of a high school classroom.

At last, the lesson (it was history) came to an end, and it was time for lunch. Sakura stretched happily.

"Yay! Lunch time!"

Syaoran smirked at her.

"I could tell you were looking forward to it," he said. She frowned and gestured for him to come outside. The other kids, busy getting their lunches and money, watched suspiciously as the two left alone.

As soon as they were alone in the hall, Sakura opened up her bag. A very hungry Kero was lying passed out inside.

"You idiot!" Syaoran whispered, "What did you bring him here for?"

"I didn't intend to! He snuck along! And I thought you weren't gonna call me an idiot anymore!" Sakura shot back. Syaoran ignored the question and picked Kero up.

"He's passed out from hunger," he observed, "what should we do?"

As Sakura and Syaoran whispered about how to handle the situation, Tomoyo pulled Eriol aside.

"Listen, Hiiragizawa," she said politely, "I would appreciate it if in the future you did not call me a lesbian. Sakura is my most precious friend and I care about her a lot, but I'm not perverted the way that you are, and so your threat has no grounds."

Eriol was slightly taken aback by her politeness (though he noticed the not so subtle insult) and only stared for a minute before collecting himself.

"I'm sorry, Daidouji. It is just that I care for Kaho a lot, and do not want her to lose her job because of me," he replied, equally politely.

The two smiled and then walked away from each other.

A chill ran down the spines of everyone in the classroom.

Meanwhile, Sakura was searching through her bag for her lunch, and had pulled out the day planner. Syaoran was poking the unconscious Kero's face and smirking. At last, revenge!

"Excuse me," someone said from behind, tapping Sakura lightly on the shoulder, "Could we speak with Kinomoto for a moment?"

Sakura turned around and saw that Zhilan and about six other girls were standing and smiling at her.

"Ah, ok!" Sakura said happily. She then turned around and whispered something in Syaoran's ear: "Give Kero my lunch. This is my chance to make new friends!"

Syaoran blushed from the closeness and watched her walk over to the group. She was so excited that she was still holding the gift from Eriol. He was left with her bag and Kero.

Sakura walked happily beside her newfound friends. The girls exchanged dark glances, unnoticed by our oblivious hero. They led her to a secluded corner of the yard and circled her. She smiled at them, trying to make eye contact with each one. In the center stood Zhilan, who was surprisingly tall, with her hands on her hips. To her immediate right and left stood two girls with identical pink ponytails and brown eyes, one wearing a white ribbon and the other a black one. Behind them the rest of the girls from Sakura's class massed and leered.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked, hugging the day planner to her chest.

"Oh, nothing much. We just want to be your friends," Zhilan said. The day planner began to glow like crazy. Sakura hugged it tighter, hoping none of them noticed.

Meanwhile, Syaoran and a newly revived Kero watched her from behind a nearby tree.

"This doesn't look good," Syaoran said. Kero wasn't listening to him.

"That book is glowing," the Guardian said to himself.

"Anyway, Kinomoto," a girl was saying, "We just wanted to know your relationship to Li Xiao Lang."

Sakura looked a little confused. She had never been bullied before, and so had no idea what was going on.

"Well, uhm," she decided against telling them about the curse (no one would believe her) "Our dads were friends, and so I'm staying with him right now as a foreign exchange student…"

"Oh, really?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow. The other girls looked angry.

"Is something wrong?" Sakura asked innocently.

"No, nothing," Zhilan said, smiling cruelly. The book glowed again.

"That's it!" Kero whispered.

"What's it?" Syaoran asked, also in a whisper.

"That book is possessed by the Libra, so it glows whenever someone tells a lie!" he replied. Syaoran turned back to the scene, worried.

"So, do you have any feelings for Syaoran?" Zhilan asked.

Syaoran's ears turned red at the thought. He knew he shouldn't be listening, but he couldn't tear his eyes away.

"I don't know," Sakura said, smiling nervously, "But I have someone else I like, so…"

Syaoran felt an odd mixture of relief and nausea. Maybe the nausea was disappointment? But he had known from the start that she liked that rabbit guy.

"Oh, that's good," Zhilan said, "But just to make sure you know your place…" she snapped her fingers.

The girls were on Sakura in an instant, pulling at her hair and her clothes.

"H-hey, stop!" Sakura cried, struggling against them.

Syaoran stepped out from behind the tree and was about to yell, when someone wedged themselves in front of Sakura, yelling, "You girls leave her alone!"

The girls backed off instantly, meaning it could only be one person…

"Meiling! Thank you!" Sakura said happily.

Syaoran breathed a sigh of relief. Kero nudged him.

"Aren't you supposed to protect her?" he asked.

"Yea, yea," he said, "But what am I supposed to do when being close to me hurts her?"

"Daidouji, I've decided something," Eriol said. Tomoyo shrugged. They were looking for Sakura and Syaoran.

"Don't you want to hear it?" he asked. Tomoyo shrugged again.

"Let's be friends, you know, call it a truce for now," he said. Tomoyo stopped.

"Why?" she asked simply.

"Because I think you're a good person," he said. She continued walking until she was a little bit ahead of him.

"I'll think about it," she replied over her shoulder.

At that point they had reached the yard and saw a very strange scene.

Meiling was scolding a group of contrite-looking girls, on principal (she hated underhanded tactics, especially in matters of the heart) while Sakura and Syaoran stood huddled behind a tree.

"My my," Eriol said, looking around, "What happened here?"

What was happening was that Sakura was surreptitiously capturing the Libra. Eriol smiled.

"Sakura! I made you some lunch!" Tomoyo called, running over. Sakura and Syaoran jumped apart, and Kero was stuffed into her bag once more. Eriol followed Tomoyo, smiling.

The four of them sat under the tree and ate together. That was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Or something like it, anyway.

DM: Well thanks so much for reading! Next chapter is seriously crazy, so brace yourselves! I've almost written it completely already, from sheer excitement. Next chapter: Heartbreak for Two.


	19. Heartbreak for Two

DM: Hello again

DM: Hello again! Thank you all so much for your reviews! Your guesses as to the two heartbroken ones were reasonable, but no one got it completely correct. Also a note: in Asia, school years begin in the spring, and then there is a summer vacation, followed by a new semester in the fall and then a winter vacation. I think they also go to school on Saturday, but we're going to pretend they don't, ok?

I would also like to take this time to thank **Jishinibaka-chan**, who reviewed every chapter of my fic so far! Thank you so much, you are seriously awesome!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc Two: Hong Kong**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Heartbreak for Two**

The rest of the school week passed without incident, but our heroes eagerly anticipated the following weekend, though for different reasons:

Syaoran was happy that he could finally relax (keeping Meiling happy while hanging out with Sakura was very difficult).

Eriol was excited because he was going to move in with Kaho.

Tomoyo was looking forward to shopping for clothes with Sakura (Sakura did not have many clothes suitable for Hong Kong's humidity).

Last but not least, Sakura was looking forward to the weekend because Touya and Yukito were coming to drop off her stuff and meet Syaoran's family. For some reason, despite their many months apart, her heart still pounded when she thought of seeing Yukito again. It was only many months to Sakura, since she had been in Clow Land. For him, though, it had only been a week.

So, let's begin with Friday afternoon.

The four were walking home together from school. Unbeknownst to Tomoyo and Sakura, it was only Syaoran and Eriol's sheer cunning that made it so that Meiling was excluded every single day (poor girl!). They reached Eriol's house first, as usual.

"Can you come over later to play some videogames?" Syaoran asked. Tomoyo frowned and Sakura resisted the urge to beg to be included.

"Ah no, sorry," Eriol said, putting up a hand, "I have things to attend to today." He went inside.

Syaoran knew the exact nature of the "things" to which Eriol had to attend, and Tomoyo could pretty much guess as well. Sakura simply shrugged it off and walked obliviously with the other two, who shared a knowing glance of disgust.

"Well I'm gonna play videogames when we get home," Syaoran said, "Cause I just got this new one before we went to Cl-Egypt and I haven't had the chance to play it yet."

"Oh! Can I play too? What's it called?" Sakura asked excitedly, bouncing a little.

"Super Smash Brothers Brawl," he said proudly. Sakura gaped.

"No way! I reserved a copy of that back home but I haven't been able to get it yet!" she whined. Tomoyo placed a hand on her shoulder.

"But Sakura, you promised that you would go shopping with me," she said softly. Sakura pouted, but then gave up and nodded.

"True. It's ok though, I'll just beat Syaoran up when I get back," she said, sticking her tongue out at an indignant Syaoran. The two girls turned to walk towards the shopping district, when he grabbed Sakura's backpack rather suddenly.

"Let me take Kero," he whispered. Sakura nodded and smiled gratefully. Tomoyo looked a little confused and a little jealous, but shrugged it off.

"Say, Sakura," Tomoyo asked as soon as Syaoran was out of earshot, "Are you sure you still like Tsukishiro?"

Sakura flushed a little but nodded. "Who else would I like, Tomoyo?" she added.

"Oh I don't know," Tomoyo replied, rolling her eyes.

"Ah, I see!" Sakura exclaimed, pounding her fist into her hand. Tomoyo, startled, asked her what she was talking about.

"But don't worry Tomoyo," Sakura continued, ignoring Tomoyo's question, "Hiira—Eriol may be nice, but I don't think I could like him that way. He reminds me too much of my dad."

Tomoyo could not begin to describe how wrong the above presumption was. For starters, Eriol gave off the least paternal vibe out of anyone she had ever seen. Secondly and most importantly:

"What makes you think I like Hiiragizawa?" she asked, barely containing her rage.

"Oh, it's just that you both stare at each other so intensely during class, that's all," Sakura replied simply.

Tomoyo wanted to yell that those were stares of intense hatred, but held her tongue. Instead, she took Sakura's arm and led her into the first store of the day.

"I don't think I could think of him that way, either," she said once they were inside. Sakura smiled. The two began to browse. Despite the haywire seasons in Clow Land, it was spring in the real world, just like when she had left it. In Hong Kong, spring changed to a humid summer much more quickly than their hometown of Tomoeda, and some new clothes were in order!

After about ten minutes of looking around, Tomoyo had amassed a large pile of clothes for Sakura to try, and one sundress and a blouse with jeans for herself. Sakura had managed to find two items that she liked. She noted Tomoyo's large pile with some apprehension, but before she could get away, she was forced into a fitting room to try on the clothes.

They emerged from the first store with a dress, a pair of jeans and a blouse each. Sakura also got two pairs of shorts.

"That was so relaxing!" Tomoyo exclaimed, stretching. She then began walking.

"Wait, we aren't done?" Sakura asked.

"Nope, we still have to get one more thing," Tomoyo replied, motioning for Sakura to follow her to a store across the street. Sakura followed, albeit reluctantly. The sun was setting, and she needed to get back home to play brawl with Syaoran…

"Here we go!" the raven-haired girl exclaimed. Sakura peered over her friend's shoulder.

"Swimsuits?" she asked. They were all pretty much bikinis, too.

"Yes, because my Auntie and Uncle have a yacht and they said me and my friends could use it this summer. I think they're out cleaning it today, actually."

Sakura nodded and began to finger through the racks. Each one was skimpier than the last, and to be honest, Sakura was a little insecure about her figure, especially next to Tomoyo.

"Ok Sakura, I think these will look good on you," Tomoyo said, holding up a pile. She had one for herself hanging off her arm.

Sakura took a deep breath and entered the changing room. Tomoyo had been right on, as usual. The yellow gingham bikini she had chosen for herself fit perfectly in the bust, and the little skirt around the bottom was cute as well.

Sakura, on the other hand, had a little trouble. The first one was too bright of a pink. The orange one made her skin look ruddy and gross. The yellow one was too big in the bust. The blue one made her look flat-chested. Finally, a green bikini with ruffles suited her perfectly. She emerged from the changing room for Tomoyo's scrutiny.

Tomoyo, who had already purchased her bikini, was delighted with Sakura's. The two girls headed out of the store in high spirits.

It was now dark outside, and the two were really hungry, so they bid their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Tomoyo had a ways to go before she got home, but Sakura would arrive quickly.

Unknown to the two girls, the following scene was playing out at a nearby apartment complex:

Eriol hefted the last box into the closet with a groan. He then brushed his hands carefully.

"Eriol, are you finished yet?" Kaho called. He replied with a yes and she walked into the bedroom.

"Come now, rest with me," she said softly. He smiled and the two sat hugging each other on the bed. Eriol had never been happier in his life. He moved and pressed his lips to Kaho's. The kiss was about to go somewhere, when the phone rang. Eriol sighed, but Kaho took his face in her hands.

"Let the machine get it," she whispered. They kissed again amidst the rings. The answering machine came on and a man's voice began speaking in an excited tone.

"Ms. Mizuki, I am very pleased to announce that you have been accepted into our study abroad program! You will receive your information and registration package shortly. Congratulations!" the message ended with a beep.

Eriol broke away from the kiss and looked at Kaho questioningly. He had pinned her underneath him and she smiled up at him.

"What study abroad program?" Eriol asked.

"Ah, I applied to go to England next fall," she answered, still smiling. Eriol got off her and sat up, resting his head in one hand.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked, not looking at her.

"What's the matter?" Kaho asked, reaching out to stroke his hair.

"Don't touch me!" Eriol cried, "Why did you have me move in with you if you were just going to leave?" Kaho scooted back and leaned against the headboard.

"Jeez, Eriol, I thought you'd be cool with this. Is it not right for me to want to enjoy my last months with you? Or did you misunderstand?" she asked, smirking a little.

"It's you who misunderstood. I'm not a toy," Eriol replied coldly. He stood up and began pulling his boxes out of the closet.

"I'll have a mover send them back to you tomorrow. Don't worry about it," Kaho said. Eriol stopped and then proceeded to walk out. Kaho followed him to the door.

"You really are childish, you know. I was wrong about you. I thought you were a man, but you're just a boy," she called as he dashed down the stairs and out into the street.

Now, who could he possibly have encountered on the streets of Hong Kong that night as he ran out on his former lover?

I think everyone knows the answer to that.

Imagine Tomoyo's surprise when Eriol ran headlong into her on her way home. At first she thought it was some guy trying to mug her, and was about to scream for help when he placed a hand over her mouth and she saw his face in the light of a street lamp.

"Daidouji?" he panted.

"Hiiragizawa," she replied, stunned.

They helped each other up, their mutual dislike forgotten in their shock. Tomoyo was staring at his face.

"What?" he asked, remembering why he didn't like her. She took a step closer to him, and he felt his heart pound.

"You're crying," she said, thoroughly amazed. He took a step back.

"Jeez, I don't bite, you know," Tomoyo snapped. She then grabbed his arm and began dragging him towards her house.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"My house," she replied.

"What the hell for?"

"Because it embarrasses me to see my worst enemy so weak." She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. He flipped her off, but followed her anyway. The odd pair walked in silence the rest of the way.

When they arrived at the house, Eriol was surprised to learn that they were alone.

"My aunt and uncle own a yacht. They're going to spend the weekend on it as it needs to be cleaned," she explained. She set about making some tea.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Eriol asked, cringing at how childish the question sounded.

"Well, a number of reasons," she began listing them, "I'm in a good mood, I'm lonely, I'm curious, I'm bored," she turned and smiled, "whatever reason you find suitable."

Eriol smiled at her without warmth.

"Why are you in a good mood?" he asked as she poured the tea.

"Oh, shopping went very well, that's all," she replied, "Do you want sugar?"

"Yea sure, can I see what you bought?" he asked, trying to peer into the bag.

"Are you actually interested or do you like playing married couple?" she asked, adding sugar to his cup.

"A little of both. I'll tell you why I'm upset if you do," he offered.

She shrugged and pulled out the dress. It was a white halter dress with blue flowers. Eriol fingered it thoughtfully. She then pulled out the blouses, a pink one and a tangerine one. He nodded his approval.

"You're not showing me some of the stuff," Eriol said, smiling. She shrugged and said that it was just a pair of jeans.

He reached into the bag and pulled out the bikini. She snatched it away before he could scrutinize it.

"Who gave you the right to look at that?" she said angrily. He smiled at her.

"Could it be that you're embarrassed?" he asked.

"Why would I be embarrassed by a freak like you? And what is this married couple atmosphere, anyway?" she stuffed everything back in the bag.

"I love Kaho," he said suddenly, his voice shaking a little, "But she never took me seriously." He huddled into a ball. She sat down next to him.

"I wanted her to stay," he whispered.

"That's understandable," she replied.

Eriol stared at her. She looked back.

"Did I stutter?"

He hugged her in reply. She didn't really mind.

"She—" he began, but his voice cracked weakly in the middle. She put a hand up.

"It's ok, you don't have to say anything else. You don't need to explain your emotions to anybody," she said. Eriol felt strangely like crying with relief at those words.

"You know," she continued, "You joke, but Sakura is really the person I love the most. She is my number one."

"I understand," he replied. Now she was the one about to cry. They lay back against the chair, she sitting in his lap with her head on his shoulder.

The two stayed like that until they fell asleep.

Meanwhile, back at the Li mansion, Syaoran and Sakura were playing their 40th straight round of brawl. Needless to say, they didn't sleep.

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Now, on to Saturday. The morning was quite chaotic as Tomoyo and Meiling had come over and were messing around. Meiling was playing badminton with Syaoran in the garden, but they were continuously interrupted by his sisters, who pretended to be referees and gave penalties for things like "hitting the birdie with the racket."

Meanwhile, Tomoyo helped Sakura prepare for Yukito and Touya's visit that afternoon. They rushed about trying to clean up her room and make it look appropriate, while deciding what Sakura should wear.

As Tomoyo looked thoughtfully over a pile of clothes, Sakura observed her longtime best friend carefully. Something was different today.

"Tomoyo, did something good happen?" Sakura asked carefully. Her friend ignored her and grabbed a white frilly top and paired it with denim walking shorts. Very cute.

"Huh? Oh, no, nothing," she replied after a bit. Sakura felt a little hurt that Tomoyo was hiding something from her, but that was replaced by nervousness when Tomoyo picked up a hairbrush.

"Time to do your hair super cutely!" the longhaired girl exclaimed, grabbing Sakura and brushing her hair.

The truth was, she felt very lighthearted today. Eriol had been gone in the morning, but he had left a blanket on her. Maybe they wouldn't have to be worst enemies after all.

"Tomoyo, you're pulling too tightly," Sakura complained. Tomoyo snapped out of it as she completed her specialty: a French braid that went across like a headband. Also very cute.

"There, finished! Tsukishiro will be very happy!" she exclaimed. Sakura went to a mirror and smiled.

"Thank you so much, Tomoyo!" Sakura cried happily, hugging her friend.

The two then went down to the garden, and joined the game of badminton. The four Li sisters, luckily, had gotten bored and left.

"Alright," Meiling said, "Me and Syaoran versus the two of you!"

Syaoran and Sakura locked eyes. The trash talking commenced.

"Prepare to be schooled like you were last night, Sakura!" Syaoran called. Meiling and Tomoyo, who had no idea what he was talking about, looked scandalized.

"Schooled? The score was 36 to 35! I was the clear victor!" she shot back. Realization dawned on the other two girls.

"Yea well then this will decide the true champion!" he replied, and with that, he served the birdie.

I'm sure that one can guess what happened. It became essentially a match between Sakura and Syaoran, with Meiling and Tomoyo casually watching. Eventually, the girls got bored and left the two to their battle. A maid brought them some lemonade.

"So, Daidouji," Meiling began, "Does Kinomoto have someone she likes?"

Tomoyo took a sip before replying with a yes.

"Who is it?" the other girl asked, a little worried. Tomoyo smiled.

"He's one of the guys coming today. Her brother's friend, Tsukishiro Yukito."

Meiling breathed a sigh of relief and drank her lemonade. Sakura hit Syaoran in the face with the birdie and was laughing while he readied a counter attack.

"Why doesn't Syaoran let me walk home with you guys?" Meiling asked suddenly. Tomoyo thought carefully before answering.

"I think that, since you're his fiancée, he doesn't want you to be competing with Sakura for his attention," she said, watching as the two subjects of their conversation chatted across the fence.

"I'll talk to him about it," said Meiling, "By the way, Daidouji, do you have someone that you like?"

For some reason, Tomoyo remembered the way that Eriol's hair smelled. She shook her head, which Meiling took to be a negative reply to her question.

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At last the time came for Touya and Yukito to arrive. Sakura was patting her hair (she had mussed it during badminton) and waiting by the door. The bell rang, and Wei opened the door to reveal two tall men in their early twenties. Touya was as dark as Yukito was light, but it was clear to Syaoran's four sisters that they were exceptionally good-looking.

Now then, what do the Li sisters do with good-looking people?

Yes, that's correct. They attack them.

"Are all Japanese boys this good-looking?" Meiling wondered aloud. Tomoyo shook her head. Syaoran sighed and pulled his sisters off.

"Go to your rooms!" he said sternly. Pouting, the girls obeyed. Once they were out of earshot they began squealing about how cute Syaoran was when he pretended to be Daddy.

"Big Brother!" Sakura called when the smoke cleared. She ran and hugged him.

"Hey, Monster. How are you holding up?" he asked, mussing her hair. She let go and pouted.

"Number one, I'm not a monster! Number two, don't mess up my hair!" she said resolutely. Touya laughed.

"Your hair does look very cute, Sakura, did Tomoyo do it for you?" Yukito asked before Touya could upset her further. Sakura blushed and nodded. Syaoran eyed Yukito, feeling strangely drawn to him but at the same time…jealous? He shook his head. No, he couldn't possibly be _jealous_.

The group sat down to coffee in one of the living rooms, and Touya began relaying his messages, sending glances of venom at the space between Syaoran and Sakura periodically, as it was too small for his comfort.

"Father is very happy that you're staying with the Li's, but he won't be able to visit you," he began, "But he thinks that spending a semester here is plenty and wants you home in time for the fall semester in Tomoeda, understand?"

To a teenager, months seem like ages, so Sakura just nodded, not really paying attention. Touya continued.

"Are you eating enough? Don't tell me you're making a pig of yourself here, too. And are you sure you're doing ok in school? You only got 76 marks on your last Chinese exam. Also," he paused in his rant, "who is that guy?" he asked, pointing at Syaoran.

"That's Li Syaoran. He lives here," Sakura said.

"Oh, so this is the ickie meanie you were telling me about the other day on the phone?" Touya asked, eyeing Syaoran with malice.

Sakura looked confused and turned to Syaoran. After all, it had been Syaoran who had posed as her at that time anyway (see chapter two for details). Syaoran shrugged, remembering how desperate times had called for desperate measured. Touya had "sister complex" written all over him.

"Don't worry, Kinomoto, I'm watching over her," Tomoyo said, to ease the tension.

Sakura smiled brightly and began chatting with Yukito, asking him all sorts of questions about his job, his apartment, his family, blushing and feeling her heart skip a beat each time he smiled in reply. Syaoran watched her, feeling strangely lonely. Just a short while ago his world had just consisted of her and himself, and he did not really like sharing.

The rest of the evening passed without incident, until the last goodbye, when the second heartbreak of this installment occurred.

Yukito and Touya were talking in private in the hallway as everyone waited for Sakura to return from a trip to the restroom.

Naturally, Sakura was lost again, thinking, _Goddamnit this place is too big…_

She managed to circle the group and come at their location from the opposite direction of the restroom, and thus saw Yukito and Touya talking with their heads close together. Curious to hear what they were talking about, Sakura snuck close to the wall.

"Yuki, you know how I feel about you," Touya was saying. Yukito smiled, then…kissed him? Sakura almost screamed. She quickly ran the opposite direction and finally came back to the group.

"What? Were you constipated?" Syaoran asked teasingly. Sakura did not hear him, only stared at the floor, distraught.

Everyone bid their goodbyes, and Touya and Yukito were set to walk Tomoyo and Meiling back to their respective houses when Tomoyo stopped on the street outside the house, wondering if something was the matter with Sakura.

This faded when she saw Eriol coming up the street. But we'll hear about what happened with those two later.

Back inside, Sakura walked to her bedroom completely ignoring Syaoran, who tried to taunt her into playing brawl with him. He tried to follow her in, but she shut the door quickly and locked it. He knocked on it softly.

"Sakura, what's the matter? You were so happy today," he called through the door. Sakura made no reply.

Syaoran leaned his full weight against the door and pressed his ear to it in a vain attempt to hear if she was crying. However, he then fell through the door. Yes, through the door. He landed on Sakura's floor with a small thump.

If Sakura noticed this strange occurrence, she did not give any indication whatsoever. She was huddled on the bed, but as far as he could see her eyes were dry. He tentatively approached her and sat down next to her on the bed. She didn't move. He slowly put his arms around her.

"What's the matter?" he whispered, "You're worrying me."

For a few seconds she did not answer, but then everything spilled out at once.

"Oh Syaoran, he likes my brother! He likes my brother! He's gay and I have no hope at all!" she practically yelled, and then she broke down crying.

Syaoran held her still and stroked her hair. She tried to pull away but he only closed his arms more tightly.

"Syaoran," she mumbled, "I'm getting your shirt wet."

"It's ok," he replied. When she stopped crying he released her a little and wiped her face.

"Thanks," she said. For a few minutes she sat comfortably in the circle of his arms. He watched her carefully in case she started crying again.

"Don't worry, Sakura. You're a beautiful and wonderful person and I am certain that you will find someone who will love you more than anyone else in the world," he said suddenly. She blushed and smiled and lay down on the bed. Syaoran didn't let go and shared a pillow with her. She put a hand on his cheek.

"You're the best, Syaoran," she whispered. Exhausted, she fell asleep. Syaoran stayed awake a little longer (though the all-night brawl fest had tuckered him out), smoothing down her hair, feeling a confusing mix of emotions.

He felt strangely relieved to know that Sakura couldn't be with that guy, yet sad that she was so upset over him. He was hopeful, too, that maybe she'd feel that strongly about him some day, but guilty that he found anything positive in the situation. Groaning, he squeezed his eyes shut tightly and willed himself asleep as well.

DM: They say that if you can sleep in the same bed as someone, you can trust them deeply. I don't know if I buy that… Anyway, this chapter was ridiculously long. Thank you for reading it all the way to the end! I bet you're all shocked! Please review and perhaps my other chapters will be this long… Next Chapter: The Long and Winding Road.


	20. The Long and Winding Road

DM: I'm back

DM: I'm back! Thanks so much for your reviews, they really help! In this chapter, Sakura will capture a bunch of Clow Cards, and we'll see what happened with Eriol and Tomoyo.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc Two: Hong Kong**

**Chapter Twenty**

**The Long and Winding Road**

Sakura woke up the next morning feeling very comfortable, except for a slight tickling sensation on her left hand. She opened her eyes and saw a bushy head of brown hair next to her on the pillow. Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered why he was there.

It was his breath that was tickling her hand, she realized, and she tried to extricate herself without waking him up but failed. He rolled over so that he was lying on his back and opened her eyes.

"S-sakura!" he said, sitting up and knocking heads with her in his surprise. The two scooted apart, each rubbing the point of contact and blushing.

"I'm sorry, we must have fallen asleep after Big Brother and Yukito left," Sakura said, grinning sheepishly.

"Ah, that's right. Good thing it's Sunday and we don't have school," Syaoran said as he got off the bed. He was in only boxers and a tee shirt, his typical pajamas. Sakura blushed and wondered why she hadn't noticed before.

"Yea, good thing," she replied.

There was an awkward pause before the doorbell rang.

"Master Syaoran," a maid called, "Miss Meiling is here to see you!"

Sakura and Syaoran gave each other a look that said something to the effect of "oh shit!" and he darted out of the room and down the hall to his own. There, Kero was stuffing himself greedily with doughnuts he had swiped from the kitchen.

"Kero, get out of here, Meiling is coming!" Syaoran whispered, pulling on jeans frantically. Kero swallowed and nodded. He flew down to the floor and crouched by the door, waiting.

"Syaoran! Good morning!" Meiling chirped, opening the door. Kero quickly flew around her ankles and out into the hall before she closed it behind her. Syaoran sighed with relief.

Kero flew over to Sakura's door, but stopped when he encountered a strong magical presence from her door. He paced in front of it, thinking about what it could possibly be.

"Which Card are you?" he asked. Just then, he heard Sakura's footsteps approach the door. He had no time to move and braced himself for the impact of the door.

Strangely, he passed through the door as it swung around. Kero's relief was short-lived; Sakura's foot came down from the heavens and stepped on him immediately after.

"Kero? What are you doing down there?" Sakura asked. She picked him up and took him back into her room.

When his lungs had re-inflated, Kero pointed at Sakura's door and whispered, "Sakura, there's a Clow Card over there."

Sakura closed her eyes. Why hadn't she noticed it before? There was strong magical power coming from her door.

"Which Card is it, Kero?" she whispered. Kero flew up to her ear.

"The Through. It can make it so the user can pass through solid objects, or it can possess objects to make anyone able to pass through them," he said.

Sakura quietly released the seal and approached the door, realizing rather suddenly that that was how Syaoran had entered her room the night before. She tapped it lightly with the wand and whispered, "Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!"

The through obediently returned to its card form.

Meanwhile, over in Syaoran's room, things were a little tense.

"How come you look so ruffled? It's already ten, Syaoran! You never sleep this late," Meiling said, alphabetizing his bookshelf, as was her habit whenever she happened to be in his room. Syaoran sighed.

"I had a really nice dream that I didn't want to end," he replied. Meiling shrugged.

"But you made your own bed? I'm impressed," she said, eyeing his bed. Syaoran felt a chill run down his spine. His bed was perfectly made yet he looked like he had just woken up! This was a problem.

Meiling sighed and sat down on the bed.

"Do you remember when we were kids?" he asked, trying to keep her mind off it, "That one time, where we were jumping on Mom's bed—"

"—Syaoran," Meiling interrupted, "How do you feel about Kinomoto?"

Syaoran tripped over his own feet in surprise. Meiling bent down to help him up.

"I'm sorry, that was a little random of me to ask," she said, smiling.

"N-no worries," he replied, "We're friends is all."

Meiling sat down on the bed again and sighed with relief.

"That's good, but I may have to openly compete with her for you," she said. He laughed nervously.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, let me walk home with you guys. She is my competition and I would like us to compete honorably and in the open!" Meiling stood up as she said this, getting really excited.

Syaoran sighed and gave in. At least Meiling was honest, if a bit rambunctious. He wondered how Sakura would react to this idea.

"She probably won't get as fired up as you are, you know," he said. She grinned and they walked out of the room together.

Still in her room, Sakura decided what to give Syaoran as a thank-you present for the night before. She smiled happily. He would love it for sure.

Of course, the next day, nothing was going to go right. But Sakura didn't know that.

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The next morning, Sakura woke up very early and asked to use the kitchen. The staff looked a little confused, but when she asked for a lunchbox they understood. She rolled up her sleeves and set about making her gift for Syaoran—a Japanese-style bento.

Syaoran, on the other hand, got up at the normal time, feeling extremely nervous. As soon as he was dressed, he walked over to Sakura's room and knocked on the door, even though it was open just a crack. What was he going to say again? That he didn't mean to invade her privacy the night before. That's right.

No answer. He knocked again, a little more loudly than before. A muffled groan came from inside, followed by a gasp.

"Sakura? It's ok, you won't be late if you hu—"

WHUMP.

The door burst open and a large blue chameleon-like creature flew out and landed on him.

"Syaoran! Hold it down!" Kero shouted, flying out. Syaoran instinctively wrapped his arms around it.

"Now I'll go get Sakura so she can capture it," Kero said.

"What do you mean, you'll go get her?" Syaoran yelled angrily.

That was a mistake.

Because, at that point, the curse activated and Sakura switched bodies with Syaoran.

On an ordinary day, this wouldn't be a problem, but today was not an ordinary day.

Now then, Sakura, confused as to what this large blue chameleon thingy was doing on her, yelped, and stood up, smashing Kero with it. This was very bad. At least she had finished making the lunch for Syaoran, so all he had to do was pick it up and take it upstairs to the mess in the hall.

"Syaoran! That's for you!" Sakura said proudly. Syaoran looked confused.

"Is that alright, Sakura?" he asked, looking over her head and behind her.

"Hey! I'm right here!" she shouted. Syaoran gasped.

This was the result of their mess:

Sakura was in Kero's body.

Syaoran was in Sakura's body.

Kero was in Syaoran's body.

A problem? I think so.

As it turns out, the Change card escaped. And without it, there was no way of getting back to normal. Why? Because, as Sakura and Syaoran discovered, the curse didn't cover Kero, meaning they were stuck in the above configuration.

The three had no time to further ponder, as they were late to school. Syaoran fingered the lunch Sakura made for him happily. At least one thing went right. Sakura, on the other hand, watched Kero apprehensively as he pretended to be Syaoran. Tomoyo and Eriol hadn't waited for them, and even Syaoran's fangirls had given up and gone to class.

However, Kero didn't have much time to mess up, because the classroom was in complete chaos.

Objects were flying around everywhere, and kids were running and screaming as some invisible force pelted them with books, pencils, chairs, Meiling, etc.

"Sakura," Kero whispered, "This is the Move Card." He handed her the key and she flew out the window. No one thought it was strange, since she looked like a stuffed animal caught in the tornado.

Outside, she released the seal, but the wand was too large for Kero's little body.

"Little! Please make the wand a manageable size so I can use it," she cried, pressing the card to the wand's tip. Mercifully, the Little helped her out.

"Sleep! Put everyone to sleep!" the screaming kids (as well as the flying Meiling) fell asleep. Syaoran and Kero gave her the thumbs-up. The Move threw a desk at them, but Sakura struck it with the wand just in time. It was quite handy to be able to fly, now that she thought about it.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" The Move struggled, but then returned to its card form. They were safe for the time being. Using the Move, now, Sakura placed everyone (and Ms. Mizuki) back at their seats. One student, Hiiragizawa Eriol, was pretending to be asleep.

Unfortunately, the kids didn't wake up until lunchtime, so the trio simply sat and talked.

"That was weird how Tomoyo and Eriol didn't wait for us," Sakura said, flying over to the sleeping Tomoyo's desk. Kero kicked his legs happily, oblivious to the conversation.

"I know what you mean," Syaoran replied. He had seen movers outside of Eriol's house on Sunday, but they were moving stuff _in_. Something must have happened.

Afraid to say more, the two of them awkwardly sat for a little bit, and then Syaoran breached the silence again.

"So you made this for me?" he asked, pulling the lunch out (lunch was in five minutes anyway) "What for?" If Sakura had been human, she would have blushed.

"I wanted to thank you for helping me the other night, that's all," she said casually. He blushed. He opened his mouth to say something else, but they heard a groan. Tomoyo was the first to wake up. He didn't even know what he would have said, anyway.

"What happened?" Tomoyo asked. Other kids were waking up around her, as was Ms. Mizuki.

"Oh I don't know, Syaoran said, "I guess the lecture was really boring."

The kids and teacher, although they were confused, didn't wonder about it too long, thankfully.

This was thanks to Eriol, but our heroes didn't know that, of course.

"Yay! Lunchtime!" Kero said happily. People stared, since saying things happily was rather unusual for Li Syaoran. Syaoran (in Sakura's body) laughed uneasily and ushered him out to eat on the grass. Tomoyo followed confusedly. Sakura slapped her forehead as Syaoran came back and picked up her hiding place—the backpack.

Eriol didn't sit with them. In fact, he disappeared as soon as they were dismissed. Syaoran didn't think too much of it, as he was already used to Eriol's wandering ways, but Sakura looked for him constantly.

The four (though to Tomoyo they seemed to be only three) sat to lunch under their now usual spot: under the tree. Syaoran excitedly unwrapped the lunch Sakura had made. It was all Japanese food. Tomoyo began talking, but only Kero really paid her any attention: Sakura waited with bated breath as Syaoran tried a piece of tagoyaki (sweet omelet roll).

Syaoran popped it in his mouth and then grimaced. Sakura frowned.

"What's wrong?" she whispered. After struggling and swallowing the first bite, Syaoran reached for his water.

"So sweet!" he whispered. He then took a long drink of water.

And he promptly spat that out.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Tomoyo asked. Luckily, Syaoran had missed her with the spray.

"N-nothing, just my water tastes really sweet today, that's all…" he answered. Kero and Sakura looked at each other.

"Oh? Let me taste," before Syaoran could protest (it was an indirect kiss, after all) Tomoyo took a small sip. She grimaced too.

"You're right," she said finally, "It's terribly sweet."

Kero excused himself, taking Sakura with him, while Syaoran and Tomoyo speculated on the causes.

"Sakura," he whispered, "This is the work of the Sweet Card." Sakura nodded, a fierce expression on her face.

No one gets away with ruining Sakura's lunch!

Hidden between Kero and a corner of the yard, Sakura went through the same procedure as in the morning: she released her wand and used Little to make it the right size.

"Where do you think it is?" Sakura asked. Kero looked around. A kid in their classroom spat out something. The two felt a pulse of magic.

"The classroom!" they said together. They ran quickly.

The boy had spat out a dumpling that was way too sweet, freaking everyone in the class out. Soon they realized there was the same problem with their lunches. Sakura looked around.

"There!" she whispered, pointing at Ms. Mizuki's abandoned lunch. A small blue fairy, similar in appearance to the Sleep, was waving her little wand over some noodles. Kero threw Sakura at it and she managed to hit it with her staff.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" Luckily, no one noticed the magical burst, as they had all gone outside.

Why did they go outside? Because someone whom they thought was Li Syaoran was doing back handsprings by the window. He then commenced with the chicken dance.

Syaoran, in Sakura's body, gaped at Kero, rage welling up from inside him. He ran up to him.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed, pushing through the crowd of laughing kids.

"Sakura had to capture a card," Kero whispered in reply as Sakura snuck back outside. Syaoran sighed sadly.

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"So that was pretty much the worst day ever," Syaoran said as the foursome walked home. Eriol had failed to turn up after lunch, and whenever he was mentioned Tomoyo grew pale and turned away.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad," Kero said, not embarrassed at all by his earlier performance.

Tomoyo sighed and took off for her house, leaving our heroes to walk by themselves. Free at last to move and speak, Sakura sighed as well.

"What's the matter?" Syaoran asked, though he knew the answer. Kero hummed obliviously.

"I worked really hard on that lunch," she said, "but that card ruined it…" Syaoran plucked her from the backpack and held her aloft.

"Hey, it's ok, you'll just have to try again," he said, winking. Sakura smiled.

"I hate to break up this warm and comfortable atmosphere," Kero said, "But we gotta look for the Change Card. Like, now." The other two nodded.

They had arrived back in the mansion to find it empty. Wei came to greet them.

"I'm terribly sorry, but some of the staff members are having strange 'out of body experiences' or something right now," he said apologetically. He was unable to elaborate further due to a shriek from the above floor.

"I'm a _man!_" someone shouted, sounding terrified. Kero and Sakura shared a meaningful glance and immediately dashed upstairs.

"Master Syaoran!" Wei called.

"It's ok," Syaoran said, "He'll be fine." He slowly followed them, trying to seem Sakura-like.

Sakura found the room in question easily, as strong magic was erupting from it.

"Kero! Open the door!" she said. The man and woman inside had passed out from shock. The Change sat on the bed, smiling. The smile faded as Sakura swung her staff.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" and with that, the Change Card was caught.

So, after that, Sakura turned everything back to normal.

Unfortunately, none of the staff was really up to anything that night, and so Sakura and Syaoran ended up making dinner for themselves while Kero tried to get in the way as much as possible.

Overall, it had not been a very good day.

DM: So that's it for now, guys! I bet you're all dying to know what's going on in the Eriol-Kaho-Tomoyo triangle! Never fear, it will show up next chapter, I promise! Please review! Next chapter: Summertime Blues.


	21. Summertime Blues

DM: Hey there

DM: Hey there! I have another installment for you! Thanks so much for your reviews, guys, they really make me happy!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc Two: Hong Kong**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Summertime Blues**

Tomoyo was lying awake in bed, thinking. This was a rather dangerous thing for her to be doing, since every time she closed her eyes, the face of a certain detestable boy floated to the front of her mind. It had already been a few weeks since the incident that had essentially destroyed all hope of a friendship with Eriol, and exams were just around the corner, but Tomoyo couldn't stop reliving it:

She had left Sakura's house feeling worried. Sakura had seemed upset after a seemingly pleasant visit from her childhood crush, Yukito (the only man she could ever consider giving Sakura to), which was most certainly strange.

However, when Tomoyo saw Eriol waiting for her on the street, she froze, remembering that they had slept next to one another the night before. Unsure of what to say, she nodded absently as he told Touya and Yukito he would walk her home. Their hotel was in the opposite direction anyway, so they left her.

She and Eriol began walking in silence. Tomoyo wondered if he was going to thank her for taking care of him the night before. Having your worst enemy in your debt is pretty useful, after all.

"You know, Daidouji," he began, turning to her. She turned a little too quickly and her hair whipped around her as she looked at him. When their eyes met, his attitude seemed to change completely.

"What is it?" she asked, not succeeding in hiding the impatience from her voice. She felt strangely uncomfortable walking alone with him; it was completely different from the comfortable atmosphere of the night before. His facial expression went from contrite to mildly annoyed.

"Don't tell anyone what I told you yesterday," he said rather sternly. Tomoyo opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.

"Or else Sakura will find out about your feelings," he added, grinning. Tomoyo's eyes widened. He was blackmailing her again?

"What the hell?" she asked softly, her irritation growing, "After all that…"

Eriol gave a harsh laugh.

"What? Did you think we'd be buddy-buddy now that you saw me at a weak moment?" he spat out, "I don't like you."

Tomoyo reached up and slapped him across the face.

"I don't give a damn," she said. They had arrived at her house and she walked up to the door alone, slamming it behind her as she entered. When she peeked out the window a few moments later, Eriol was still standing outside, talking to himself.

In spite of her own anger, she watched his lips move. She could have sworn he said: "That's not what I meant to say at all."

But maybe that was just what she hoped.

"Bah!" she said, sitting up and throwing a pillow at the wall, "Why would I ever hope that?"

Sick at the mere memory of the experience, she slid off the bed and went to the bathroom, where she gave a dry retch. Her stomach had been bothering her the past few days.

"Maybe I'm coming down with something…" she whispered to herself.

"Syaoran, where'd you put my backpack?" Sakura called, running around frantically as she tied her hair in the usual little pigtails.

Syaoran, who was busy tying his tie for the third time (for some reason he was a little clumsy this morning) replied that it was in the foyer.

The two continued to run around getting ready, as they both had overslept that morning. The Li sisters watched with amusement.

"Too much cuddling last night," they chorused, as Syaoran stuffed a croissant in his mouth on the run. He flipped them off over his shoulder.

They were referring to the fact that he and Sakura had been discovered asleep in front of the TV by the cleaning staff. Not their best moment.

What had really happened was that the Lock Card had locked up their Nintendo Wii, and Sakura had to figure out how to capture it so that they could play. This didn't take too long, but once they did get it unlocked, they were so relieved that they played until four in the morning, when they finally passed out from exhaustion.

"C'mon, Sakura, we have to go now," Syaoran said, grabbing her by the arm before she could argue, "We're going to be late!"

The two ran out of the house, leaving a laughing Wei in the doorway.

"I could have driven them," he said to himself, "Those two will never learn."

"So…tired…" Sakura panted as they ran. She was not a morning person on the best of days, and this could pretty much be deemed the worst.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Syaoran asked as they wove through a crowd in front of the supermarket (there was a special sale on eggs that day). Sakura shook her head.

"Are you serious? Isn't this just like last week when we had to capture the Arrow Card?" he insisted. Sakura snapped to attention.

"Oh, you're right," Sakura said, looking around. The Arrow had ambushed them around the supermarket, and in a fit of fury, Syaoran had punched it in the face. Heaven forbid he be tardy a single time. Sakura laughed remembering it.

Tomoyo and Eriol no longer walked to school with them, Syaoran observed, since around the time of Touya and Yukito's visit. He had a vague idea as to what had happened.

"Oh no!" Sakura said suddenly. Syaoran stopped and she ran into his back. They both fell over.

"What?!" he asked, thinking something serious had happened.

"I forgot to feed Kero!" she said. Syaoran growled in frustration and picked her up, carrying her on his back.

"He'll be fine, but I can't be late!" he said brusquely. He ran off, Sakura holding on for dear life. She noticed (not for the first time) that his hair smelled really, really good.

Back home, Kero was just waking up, dismayed to find not even a crumb available for his consumption. He opened up a drawer and put on the little ninja suit he had asked Create to make for him. It was time to lay waste to the kitchen!

The duo arrived into school with Sakura still on Syaoran's back and only minutes to spare before class. The fangirls had even given up waiting for him. He dashed into the classroom, dropping Sakura into her chair and then flying into his. They made it.

The class applauded just as Miss Mizuki walked through the door. Eriol set about doodling on his paper, feeling more hurt than he'd ever admit at the sight of his former love. Tomoyo smiled brightly at the teacher, who looked mildly uncomfortable with the situation.

They began their review for exams, which were the following week. Sakura glanced nervously at her math workbook. This was not going to be fun. Syaoran noticed her discomfort and put a reassuring hand over hers, oblivious to the attention they were getting from the rest of the class.

"I'll help you study," he said, smiling. The girl sitting a few seats behind them got a nosebleed from the sheer brilliance of it.

Tomoyo and Eriol both gave them nauseated looks. Their eyes met, and each realized they had been thinking the same thing. However, Tomoyo turned away in a huff, breaking the brief contact.

The strange thing was that she actually did feel nauseous (though the lovey-dovey atmosphere between Sakura and Syaoran wasn't helping any).

"Daidouji," Miss Mizuki said, "Are you alright? You seem a little pale and sweaty."

_The "sweaty" was rather unnecessary_, both Eriol and Tomoyo thought to themselves. They both gave a small chuckle, realizing that Miss Mizuki clearly thought that there was something going on between them. They stopped when they noticed the other's actions.

Tomoyo's stomach pain seemed to be peaking, but she merely nodded and insisted that she was fine. She hadn't eaten anything for almost thirty-six hours now (it's hard to eat when your tummy hurts) and was feeling quite weak and dizzy.

The teacher began breaking them up into pairs now for independent study, mostly so that she could go out and have the cigarette she so desperately needed. She intentionally did not place Eriol with Tomoyo, sensing in her own way a bond between them, but put Sakura and Syaoran together without thinking. She left the room and everyone began to work.

"Ok Sakura, let's tackle that math," Syaoran was saying. Tomoyo noticed that Sakura seemed distinctly uncomfortable due to all the glares of hatred she was receiving from the other girls. Tomoyo gave her the thumbs-up sign and her mood brightened.

_See, he makes you uncomfortable, while I make you comfortable,_ she thought. The boy she was paired with was staring at her.

"Are you in pain, Daidouji?" he asked softly. Tomoyo was actually starting to have double vision at the moment and couldn't really see his face at all.

"I'm ok," she said. Then she grabbed a nearby trashcan and gave a dry retch. You can't throw up without eating anything. She then passed out.

"Daidouji!" he shouted. Everyone in class turned to stare.

"Tomoyo!" Sakura cried. She and Syaoran stood up, but it was Eriol who got there first.

"I'm taking her to the nurse's office," he said softly, picking her up, "Syaoran, call an ambulance."

He left the room holding her princess-style in his arms, hurrying through the hallway to the health office. The nurse was out, so he put her on the bed himself and sat next to her.

She was extremely pale and was shivering. He put a hand to her forehead to discover that she had a high fever. What the hell were her Aunt and Uncle up to, letting her get sick like this?

He quickly made a cold compress and laid it across her forehead. She twitched a little at the contact. He noticed that she actually was sweating a lot, and without thinking began to undo her tie and take off her blazer. Unaware that three people were watching him, he took off her socks as well and put everything neatly to the side.

"Now we'll be even," he said aloud, stroking her hair. Outside, Sakura and Syaoran gave each other puzzled looks.

"You should just go in," he whispered, "She's your friend, isn't she?" Sakura blushed and looked down.

"I feel like I'll be interrupting an intimate moment if I do that," she replied. Syaoran shook his head.

Who was the third person watching Eriol's every move, you ask? Through the window, Miss Mizuki watched with interest as she smoked. The cigarette was slowly losing its appeal as she saw the tender expression on Eriol's face. She growled and crushed it under her feet.

Meanwhile, Eriol had noticed for the first time that Tomoyo was exceptionally beautiful. This idea seemed to have a strange affect on his hands, which now found themselves playing with her hair. He brought a piece up to his mouth and kissed it, then immediately threw it back down, wondering what the hell had come over him. Tomoyo's eyes slowly twitched open.

"Eh? What am I doing here?" she asked, unaware of Eriol's presence. Eriol chuckled and she stared at him, eyes widening with fear. She looked down and saw that she was in her shirt and skirt only, her legs and collarbone completely exposed. She slapped him in the face.

"What the fuck did you do to me, bastard?" she asked, furiously. Eriol rubbed his cheek.

"Wouldn't you like to know," he replied coyly, smirking at her. That was a bad decision. She began to cry. Puzzled, Eriol put a hand on her shoulder. She recoiled in disgust.

"H-hey," he said, putting his hands up in surrender, "I was only joking around, I'm sorry—"

Tomoyo's tears stopped and she stuck her tongue out at him. Eriol was mildly shocked.

"Now tell me, why am I here?" she asked, wiping her face on her sleeve in an undignified yet cute manner.

"You fainted," he said, wondering how she could have cried so convincingly. She sighed.

"You know—" he began.

"What?" she asked impatiently. He was slightly taken aback at the straightforward look in her eyes. The cold compress slid off and fell on the bed with a light smack.

"I only took your clothes off because you were sweating," he said, trying to look her in the eye. She shrugged.

"You probably did something strange that you're too embarrassed to talk about," she said. She fell backwards from a sudden spell of weakness, and would have hit her head had he not caught her in his arms.

"You smell good," was all she said before she fell unconscious again. Eriol laid her back down, feeling a warm blush spread across his face.

He thought about his kissing her hair.

"You're right, I did do something strange," he said. Syaoran and Sakura gasped aloud. Eriol turned around, a very scary expression on his face. The two hid. Just then, the paramedics dashed in and began questioning him, causing him to forget about the two voyeurs he had detected.

Syaoran and Sakura slipped away in the confusion.

"That was the strangest thing I've ever seen," Sakura said quietly. She had really wanted to go in and check on her best friend, but something about the atmosphere of the room made her feel shy. When she saw the way Tomoyo spoke with Eriol she felt like she was looking at a stranger.

The rest of the school day passed in a surreal sort of manner for Syaoran. Eriol seemed to be interested in Sakura's friend (who, interestingly, had acute appendicitis and was in the hospital). Sakura didn't speak very much and wouldn't make eye contact with Eriol at all. Miss Mizuki seemed really irritated and gave them a ton of homework, which caused everyone to shoot a glare at Eriol, who refused to even look at his teacher. This was all much too complicated for our hero.

So, we'll move away from the confused Syaoran and the uncomfortable Sakura and follow Eriol on his way home from school:

He unconsciously was walking by Kaho's house, wondering what the hell she meant by giving them all that homework, when an idea struck him: he should go visit Tomoyo in the hospital. That would be the quickest and easiest way for him to get things sorted out. Why was he feeling so strangely, he wondered? He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Something about seeing her so vulnerable affected him.

He paused for a moment on the sidewalk, resolutely deciding to go to the hospital and thus changed his direction. Unfortunately, this led him smack into an irritated Mizuki

Kaho who was on her sixth cigarette of the day as she stomped home. A look in her eyes said "Come here." Eriol obeyed. This was a bad decision.

While Eriol was finding himself between a familiar pair of sheets, Tomoyo was walking up from the anesthesia. The surgery had been a success, and now she was appendix-free. The nurse told her that Sakura and Syaoran had been by to visit while she was asleep, but for some reason this didn't make her very happy. Her Aunt and Uncle came in,

apologizing profusely for not noticing, blah blah…yet something was definitely missing.

What was it?

Tomoyo knew what it was, but she'd be damned if she admitted it.

Sakura and Syaoran went to bed early that night, both a little disturbed by the events of that day. Kero had managed to sneak down and pass himself off as a cat to get food from the kitchen, and all was well. Tomoyo would supposedly be able to get out of the hospital in a few days.

The next day, they woke up on time and went downstairs. They had croissants for breakfast. Syaoran found this strange, since they had had croissants for breakfast the day before and repetition like this never occurred. However, he shrugged it off and he and Sakura went on their way.

As they passed the supermarket, there seemed to be a crowd again, just like the day before. Sakura stood on tiptoe and saw that it was a sale on eggs. Again. She thought this to be quite odd, but didn't mention it to Syaoran, who seemed lost in thought.

When they arrived at school, the fangirls swarmed Syaoran as usual and Sakura slipped on ahead, where she encountered Eriol in the hallway, who was staring at a calendar. She said hello and he smoothly replied back without looking away. Sakura shrugged and kept on towards the classroom.

Incidentally, Tomoyo was already in her seat. Sakura was surprised yet happy.

"Tomoyo, you're at school already? I thought you'd have to stay in the hospital for a few more days…" Sakura said brightly. Tomoyo turned and gave her a puzzled look, clutching at her stomach. She was shaking.

"What are you talking about, Sakura?" she asked, mildly irritated at her friend. Sakura shook her head and dashed out of the room.

As Eriol heard her run past him back down the hallway, his lips curved up in a smile.

"So she figured it out," he said. The calendar still said the same date.

They were living the same day over again.

DM: Cliffhanger! Everyone knows what that means! This chapter was so long…Anyway, I hope you all liked it! Please review, they make me so happy! Next Chapter: Vacation.


	22. Vacation

DM: Well I'm back after my hiatus

DM: Well I'm back after my hiatus! The earlier chapters are now much better than they were before, thanks to my betas! I love you guys! Plus, the new summary was written by MoshiMoshiQueen! You're amazing!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

**Curses!**

**Arc Two: Hong Kong**

**Chapter Twenty-two**

**Vacation**

Eriol was sitting by the clock on the counter of the supermarket that Sakura and Syaoran passed every day on their way to school. He still had an hour before Tomoyo would collapse due to her appendicitis, so he just decided to ditch class. He knew what Kaho would talk about anyway.

_Kaho…_he clenched a fist at the thought. He thought that the pain was ebbing away, though he hadn't minded being used by her just the day before.

_Or rather, today,_ he thought wryly. It was all a confusing mess. Tomoyo's face had appeared in his mind several times. That weak, vulnerable face she made while asleep with a fever. He had almost called her name.

"_That_ would have made Kaho livid," he muttered, smirking. That's what she deserved for leaving him out of the blue to go study abroad.

He stroked the clock lightly, ignoring the strange look an old lady was giving him.

"You're still loyal to me, aren't you?" he whispered to it. He felt it emanate a warm pulse in reply. Eriol shook his head.

"It's time for you to get a new master, you know? I'm gonna have to do something about this once she's collected you all…" he spoke a little too loudly, and the clerk gave him a worried glance.

_That's right, I'm just a shell of some "dumbass Clow magician guy thing" _(See ch 16). _And now I'm leaving a legacy of magic to some girl who sucks at math and didn't even notice her own best friend was suffering. _He made a fist again and sighed. Clow wouldn't have been so bitter about it, he supposed. But Eriol was getting very sick of trying to be Clow. Fujitaka had probably inherited all the good traits, anyway…

"Hey kid," he called, "Shouldn't you be in school?" Eriol glared at him, but left the store nevertheless. The pimply twenty-year old clerk scratched his head as he watched him leave, wondering how a clock could have a master.

Meanwhile, Syaoran and Sakura were staring at Tomoyo, who sent them glances full of venom periodically. She felt extremely irritated with their concern, especially since it felt like they were bonding because of her.

"What? What do you want?" she whispered to Sakura through clenched teeth. A wave of pain caused her to wince. Sakura walked over and put her hands on Tomoyo's shoulders.

"Tomoyo," she whispered, "I think you have appendicitis." Tomoyo's eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed in annoyance.

"Yea sure, and Hiiragizawa's missing because he has a cold," she replied.

Sakura and Syaoran both looked at Eriol's empty seat, and then at each other. Sakura felt as though ice had been poured down her back. Eriol was behaving differently from the day before, meaning he wouldn't save Tomoyo…Sakura raised her hand.

"Teacher!" she called, with the intention of taking Tomoyo to the nurse's office, but Kaho didn't hear her as Eriol took that moment to reenter the room.

"Well look who it is," Kaho said smugly, picking up a ruler (which was usually just for show) and smacking her palm with it in a threatening manner. Eriol looked into her eyes, unfazed. She had done more threatening things in bed. He glanced at the clock on the wall. Tomoyo would dry retch any second now.

"Hiiragizawa, where have you been this morning?" she continued, her eyes full of vengeful malice. Eriol ignored her and instead locked eyes with Tomoyo, who looked very pale and weak. She felt something funny in her chest, but it was quickly forgotten when she suddenly retched and passed out to the side. Eriol was next to her impossibly quickly, holding her head and preventing it from hitting the ground.

"Li, take Daidouji to the nurse's office. Now then, Hiiragizawa, I'm—" Kaho was saying, but Eriol had picked Tomoyo up and was walking out the door.

"Oi, Li will take her, get back in here! Don't use that as an excuse!" she shouted after him, her anger and frustration leaking out of her normally composed and demure voice. Eriol stopped and turned around.

"No, I will take her," he said sternly, looking for the first time like a man, instead of a boy. Kaho felt her heart skip a beat, and several girls in class sighed happily. Sakura and Syaoran gave each other a meaningful look and followed Eriol. Kaho let them through without questioning, feeling herself suddenly in desperate need of a cigarette.

As they walked through the hallway, they began talking in low voices.

"That's strange. Aside from us, only Eriol behaved differently today," Sakura said. Syaoran shook his head.

"No, Ms. Mizuki didn't pair us up like she did before," he countered.

"But maybe that's because Eriol wasn't in class with us today, so his conscious change affected her unconscious one," Sakura argued. Syaoran stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"Sakura, are you trying to say that Eriol has magic?"

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The Eriol in question was now removing Tomoyo's clothes in the same order as the day before. He stroked her hair, waiting for her to wake up.

_Time Card_, he thought, _You did this so you could give me another shot, didn't you?_

"Yet it hurts to see her like this again," he finished aloud.

"See whom?" a weak and shaky voice asked. Tomoyo was awake and sitting up. Eriol realized his hand was still on her hair and removed it immediately. She gasped, noticing her state of undress, and slapped him in the face.

"What the fuck did you do to me, bastard?" she asked, furious. Eriol rubbed his cheek and chuckled.

"Right on schedule, I see," he said softly. Tomoyo felt herself grow more irritated at his calm attitude, but felt too weak and dizzy to comment on it.

"Now then," Eriol said calmly, "You fainted in class and I carried you here. You have an impossibly high fever and are sweating profusely, so I removed some of your clothes and put a compress on your forehead." Tomoyo stared at him.

"Really," he continued, "I don't see why you don't trust me more—"

"Why should I," she asked defiantly, "When you blackmail me at every turn?"

Eriol felt himself blush. He hadn't blushed since…since the first time he met Kaho.

"Daidouji," he said softly, taking both her hands in his (she was too weak to fight back), "You make me feel vulnerable, like I want to protect myself—"

Tomoyo smirked, but then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell backwards. Eriol caught her gently. Out in the hall, he heard a small voice say "Windy" and smirked.

That small voice naturally belonged to Sakura, who called Windy to go and get Kero from the Li mansion. Syaoran watched her with tense eyes as she spoke lovingly to the card, recalling their argument.

"It's a possibility, Syaoran," she had said. They decided to ask Kero about it and bring him in to help them find the card.

Syaoran had called the paramedics, and as they arrived and created pandemonium throughout the school, the two walked out. Sakura closed her eyes and let the key dangle in front of her.

"Oh Key of Clow, please guide me towards the Card I seek," she said softly. The key swung back along the road she and Syaoran took to school. The two set off running.

"Oi, Sakura!" Kero called when they had reached the supermarket. Sakura and Syaoran looked around, wondering where he could be.

"Down here!" he yelled in an irritated voice, "Gee, you guys are tall!" The two looked down.

Kero was on all fours, pretending to be a cat. Syaoran snorted,

"Anyway," Kero continued, ignoring Syaoran's attitude, "The card is in there," he pointed with his tail to the supermarket. Sakura dashed in.

Then she reappeared next to them and dashed in again.

And again.

And again.

Finally, Syaoran caught her by the shoulders just as she reappeared.

"What, Syaoran? I gotta catch the card!" she yelled, attempting to shake him off. He held her strongly.

"Sakura, it has you stuck in a loop," he replied calmly. Sakura looked around and realized it as well.

"Crud, so what do we do?" she asked. Kero tugged on her sock.

"I have a plan," he whispered.

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Eriol was running towards the hospital, determined not to waste his second chance. He ran into Kaho, just as he did before, smoking a cigarette, but this time ignored her completely and just ran by—

"Oi, where do you think _you're_ going," she said, grasping his sleeve and holding him back. He wriggled out of his jacket and continued to run, leaving her holding it in one hand and a quickly disintegrating cigarette in the other.

He dashed into the hospital, breezing past the receptionist and running up to the room he knew Tomoyo would be in, but finding that the hallways now diverged and intersected in a completely random way. He sensed magic and suddenly realized what it was.

"No, not now!" he said, frustrated, "Nurses can't come and help her if the hospital is possessed by Maze," he grumbled to himself.

_I promised myself I wouldn't interfere unless it was necessary,_ he thought, trying to outwit the maze only to find himself next to the receptionist once more. He groaned and clenched a fist, trying again to walk.

He ended up at the nurse's station, where it was a mass of confusion. No one could get where they wanted to go. An emergency light lit up on the nurse's switchboard, Room 108. Tomoyo's room.

Eriol sighed.

"Looks like I have no choice," he said to himself.

With a flash of light, everything returned to normal, and he held the Maze card in his hand.

"Really, you're just like a child who misbehaves to get Daddy's attention," he said to the card, letting it fall to the floor. He strode towards Tomoyo's room.

Meanwhile, the supermarket was struck by lightening, destroying every electronic device inside, including the clock. The staff had been cleared out by the Move card a few seconds prior.

Sakura, Syaoran and Kero gasped as an old man holding an impossibly large hourglass jumped out the window and into the street. Sakura was ready and had set up Loop around the perimeter. Jumping up and catching him his second time around, Sakura yelled,

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" The old man continued to run, but he dissolved into threads and was wrapped up into a card. The Time card. She signed her name with satisfaction.

"Now let's go see Tomoyo in the hospital, ok?" Sakura asked, turning around to her two companions, though the mention of Tomoyo's name brought a twinge to her heart. Why had Eriol beaten her there? Why did Tomoyo behave so differently when he was around? Why did she suddenly feel so out of touch with her best friend?

Syaoran and Kero were deep in discussion and didn't hear her, leaving her to mull over these questions for a bit.

"You see," Kero was saying, "People who have magic exude what's called an aura. Your friend doesn't have one, so he can't possibly have magic." Syaoran nodded.

"See, Sakura?" he said, relieved to know that his best friend was normal.

"But wait, what about Syaoran's aura? You didn't know he had magic until he healed me for the first time, right?" she asked, still holding on to her gut feeling. Kero rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Syaoran always had an aura, though. It was just really weak so I assumed he was useless," he replied.

This of course prompted a smack on Syaoran's part, causing Kero to splat against the window.

"Who's useless, stuffed animal?" he asked. He smirked and turned away as Sakura peeled Kero off the glass.

Syaoran looked convinced with this explanation and Sakura pretended to be, but something kept nagging her. Eriol had been staring at the calendar as if he'd noticed something strange about it.

They were arriving at the hospital now, and Sakura just sighed and decided to drop the whole thing for the time being.

"Oi Sakura, isn't that a Clow Card?" Syaoran asked. They were passing the lost and found by the receptionist. Syaoran reached in the bin and pulled out what did indeed look like a Clow Card. He handed it to Sakura, who examined it with Kero.

"The Maze, huh?" Kero said as Sakura signed her name on it, "That's strange, it usually likes to wreak havoc…I wonder what happen."

Sakura remained silent, but felt a distinctive deep red aura coming from the Card. The group then walked to Tomoyo's room, only to find that Eriol had gotten there first. They were chatting happily, and Sakura once again felt like a stranger and lacked the courage to enter.

"You know," Tomoyo was saying, "After summer break, I'm going back to Tomoeda with Sakura." Eriol nodded.

"Will you spend some of summer vacation with me?" he asked. She frowned.

"Why are you asking me that?" she asked, "And why should I?" She arched a delicate brow. He chuckled.

"You are sharp as usual. But don't you think you owe me one for carrying you _princess-style_ out of our classroom this morning?" Tomoyo looked out at the darkening sky.

"Thanks, I guess. Fine," was all she said. Eriol took her hand and kissed the back of it, causing her to laugh at him.

"You know, with you paying attention to me, I don't feel so lonely anymore," she said.

Sakura felt something inside her chest throb painfully, watching them. Had Tomoyo been lonely since she came to Hong Kong? Why hadn't Sakura noticed?

Outside, Syaoran looked at Sakura to see tears rolling down her cheeks. He put an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder.

"It's ok," he said, "I'm sure she doesn't blame you. You're too good of a person."

Sakura leaned into him but said nothing.

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"Agh, stop splashing me, Syaoran!" Sakura said, more happy than annoyed. Syaoran continued to splash and chase after her, more than a little bit entranced by her green bikini. Tomoyo sat with Eriol in the sun on her aunt and uncle's yacht.

The yacht was small but fit their group comfortably, with a little cabin inside in which two people could live. It was white with dark wood trim and green awnings, The _S.S. Yoriko_, named after the first cat her Aunt and Uncle had ever had.

"They're kind of cute like that," Eriol said softly, eyeing our two heroes. Tomoyo looked up from her book and smiled.

"Yea, I guess so. I wonder when they'll notice their feelings. I've never seen such dense people—"

"Tomoyo," Eriol cut her off, "Let's set them up together." Tomoyo was so taken aback by his use of her first name that the second part of the statement didn't sink in till a few moments later.

"Yes, _Eriol_," she finally replied, "We should." He raised an eyebrow.

Syaoran and Sakura were swimming in circles around the yacht, playing a happy game of tag. Kero had to pretend to be a stuffed animal just to sit on the deck. Poor guy.

"Hey, Syaoran," Sakura called, suddenly stopping and turning around. Syaoran couldn't stop himself in time and crashed in front of her. She grabbed hold of him so as not to get pushed underwater, throwing her arms around his neck and leaving them in a very strange pseudo-hug.

"Uh, sorry, you were saying?" he said. She blushed and tried to pull away, her green eyes locked with his brown ones, but he held his arms around her waist, keeping her near him.

"Sorry, I was gonna say, don't Eriol and Tomoyo look good together?" her heart was beating very fast at the close proximity. All she could think about was how muscular and warm Syaoran was…

He leaned closer to her, and for a second her breath caught in her throat, thinking he was going to kiss her, but he actually just looked over her shoulder at the pale pair on the boat.

"Y-yea, you're right, they do," he replied, pulling his head back. Suddenly, he was caught in her gaze, their noses touching and both extremely aware of the other's body. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip around her waist, leaning his face in. She closed her eyes in anticipation.

Then a huge, salty wave crashed over both their heads, effectively ruining the mood. Sakura suddenly sensed magic as she and Syaoran sprang apart and a larger wave approached.

"Syaoran, it's a Clow Card!" she said, quickly pulling the key out of her bikini top. Syaoran felt himself get a little nosebleed at the sight.

Back on the boat, Tomoyo put her video camera down in dismay.

"Phooey, it was just getting to the good part," she huffed. Eriol looked at her, surprised.

"Not that I don't agree, but are you sure you don't mind?" he asked, trying not to sound as concerned as he felt.

She thought about it for a moment and placed a hand over her heart, drawing his attention to her rather skimpy yellow bikini. He suddenly found himself imagining doing things with this girl he had only done with Kaho, and shook his head to clear it of the nonsense.

"No, I don't mind, really, because I always knew it would end up this way," she said softly, "She was looking at me with sad eyes this morning, and I want her to always be happy, even if she needs a man instead of me. Syaoran's a good guy. Anyway, I don't want to die with those negative feelings. I'm become a ghost." Tomoyo giggled, and Eriol thought he had never seen such a pretty smile.

Eriol took her hand and led her inside, trying to give Sakura and Syaoran the freedom to use their magic. As soon as the door closed behind them, Kero flew out over the sea, where Sakura and Syaoran circled the waves, riding on the Fly.

"Kero, how do I beat this card?" Sakura asked, frantic. Kero shook his head.

"Sakura, you should be able to figure it out! Remember what I taught you about the hierarchy of the cards!" He was pushed down by a wave and came up in his true form of a winged lion. Syaoran leapt off Sakura's wand and landed on his back.

"You can do it Sakura!" he called.

Syaoran's voice flipped a switch in her brain, and Sakura remembered exactly what she needed to do.

"Watery, ruler of all water, stop the Wave Card!" she cried, striking the Watery with her staff. Watery dove in, borrowing Sakura's strength, and eventually managed to calm the card down. Sakura was able to capture it.

Inside the boat, while all this commotion was going on outside, Eriol and Tomoyo had found themselves in a strange predicament. The power of the Wave during its battle with Watery had rocked the boat and caused Tomoyo to fall on top of Eriol, who in turn fell on the small bed inside the cabin. As much as he tried, Eriol could not seem to focus on anything other than the soft feeling of her chest against his. Tomoyo turned bright red and jumped away.

"I'm sorry, I tripped—" she began in a panic, but he held up a hand.

"It's alright. It's a pleasure to be tackled by such a pretty girl," he replied. Tomoyo's blush worsened and she turned away from him, busying herself with getting drinks out of the fridge

Eriol put a hand over his mouth. _I can't believe I just said that,_ he thought, completely embarrassed.

So, when Syaoran and Sakura walked into the cabin, the sight of both parties' embarrassment led them to believe that something had happened, thought what they could not guess. Looking at each other, the two decided to break the awkward atmosphere.

"It's so sad that in just a few weeks we'll have to return to Japan, huh, Tomoyo?" Sakura asked, noting with alarm that steam was coming out of her friend's ears.

"Oh, y-yea," she said, avoiding Eriol's gaze.

"Speaking of which," Eriol said, still trying to calm his quickly beating heart, "It's getting dark out, we should probably head in. We have a lot of packing to do."

The other three turned and stared at him.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I've decided to come with you to Japan and stay in Tomoyo's home," he said happily.

Outside, Kero was shaking himself dry. "Only five cards left…" he muttered to himself.

DM: That's right! The whole gang is gonna be in Tomoeda the next time you see them, at the start of the five-part finale. Yup, only five chapters left for everything to come together, the curse, the cards, Eriol and Fujitaka, and of course, the romance! I hope you liked this chapter! Please review! Next chapter: Two Idiots


	23. Two Idiots

DM: All right! We're at the start of the finale! Woo! Thank you all so much for your support so far! Please continue to support this story till the end!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. Sorry guys, I usually like to have Moshi-san go through it twice, but since I'm leaving today I put it up after only one edit.

**Curses!**

**Finale**

**Part One**

**Two Idiots**

"Are we there yet?" Syaoran sighed. Eriol shook his head without looking up from his issue of Sky Mall. Tomoyo ignored him, her eyes glued to the romantic comedy on the little screen. Syaoran was sitting between the two of them, and Sakura was on Eriol's other side at the window seat.

The group was heading back to Tomoeda, Eriol and Syaoran being the "exchange" for Sakura and Tomoyo. The school, Meiling included, had surprisingly wished them the best. Now they had to worry about dealing with Tomoeda. Tomoyo in particular had a very bad feeling, seeing as Eriol was somehow going to be living in her house.

How he had managed to convince her of this she had yet to figure out. She gave him a sidelong glance, wondering why she was going along with this so easily. In recent days (especially after the yacht incident) they were being civil with one another—no, more than civil, they were quite friendly. This confused her all the more.

Little did she know that Eriol was wondering how he would convince her mother to allow him to stay at their home. This was one major detail he had failed to overlook. Resolving to think about it later, he continued to pore over the pages of useless but convenient devices offered for purchase.

Syaoran was bored out of his mind, having failed to bring a book or an ipod or anything of the sort to keep himself entertained. He found this especially troublesome now, since he couldn't stop reliving their trip on the yacht. Her lips had been so close to his—he shivered—just thinking about it made his heart race, and he couldn't figure out why.

Sakura was drumming her fingertips against the window, watching the never-ending blue with a restless feeling. Kero had assured her that the cards would follow them to Japan (they followed the person with the most magical power, and that was her right now) but she still worried. She didn't want to get home and see that Hong Kong was utterly destroyed and engulfed in flames.

There was something else that bothered her: she was certain that Eriol had magical powers. Something about how he always seemed to know to leave the room when they needed to catch a card, his smug looks at Kero when the guardian pretended to be a plushy, and mostly their experience with the Time card. Not to mention how they found the Maze card just lying around. Sakura couldn't understand why Kero wasn't more suspicious. And Syaoran--weren't they supposed to be on the lookout for Clow's descendant who could remove the curse?

_What if it's Eriol? _she thought suddenly, her heart jumping into her throat. She turned to eye the boy next to her nervously. He continued to examine an advertisement for an organizational device organizer with the utmost care and scrutiny. Sakura shook her head.

Deciding that it would be a good time to go splash her face with cold water, Sakura got up, nudging Eriol's leg with her own. At last he tore his eyes away from the excessive amount of Harry Potter paraphernalia to shuffle a little to let her by. Sakura began to move.

Smirking slightly, Eriol pretended to slip in his seat and hooked ankles with the poor cardcaptor, who proceeded to trip, as people are apt to do in such situations. Syaoran, who had been zoning out, was pleasantly surprised to suddenly find her face in his lap.

Panicking, Sakura placed her hands on Syaoran's knees and pushed herself up. Syaoran, taken by surprise by the sudden weight, leaned forward to compensate. Sakura felt his breath against her lips before he'd snapped back in position.

"S-sorry," she said softly, her heart beating at ten times its normal speed. Syaoran could only manage a nod, his voice catching just at the back of his throat.

Tried as she might, Sakura couldn't help but turn back to look as she walked down the airplane aisle. Yup, he was looking at her. She snapped her head back in front of her, her face suddenly feeling extremely flushed.

* * *

Touya was waiting for them at the airport gate, along with several bodyguards from the Daidouji estate. Tomoyo and Eriol were barely able to manage a "bye" before the team swept them into a limo and sped off, fearing for Tomoyo's safety.

Sakura and Syaoran (Kero was stuffed inside Sakura's backpack) suddenly found themselves alone with Touya, who was struggling to remind himself why he had let a boy into their home.

"Could you help me with my bag, please?" Sakura asked him, gesturing to her large and ungainly pink suitcase as it passed them on the baggage carousel. Touya smirked.

"I'm not your slave, woman," he said, not taking his eyes from Syaoran. Syaoran glared back with equal intensity.

"I'm not your woman, slave. Now get to work!" she snapped back, kicking him lightly in the shin. The older boy winced and went to do what he was told. Syaoran followed, eager to compete with this new-found enemy.

Together, the two attempted to lift Sakura's bag up off the carousel as it made another round. Syaoran was shoved from behind by someone and then dropped it, causing to land on Touya's foot. The black-haired young man groaned audibly, and the bag was tossed aside in a fit of rage.

"What the hell was _that_ for, you idiot!" he yelled at Syaoran, who was busy glaring at the person who had pushed him, who was now walking away innocently.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" he countered, anger rising. The two began glaring at each other furiously and each adopted a fighting stance.

Sakura, who had had to scramble to prevent her bag from killing a small child, sighed as she watched the two men in her life. She knew immediately that they were looking for any excuse to fight one another, and so she did what girls do best.

She knocked over her suitcase and then grabbed her foot, yelping, pretending to be hurt.

"Ouch! I dropped it on my foot!" she cried, hopping up and down with fake pain. That distracted the other two fairly well, and the next thing she knew the bags were on a trolley and the three were calmly leaving the airport, crossing the street to the large parking garage.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Syaoran asked her, his voice laced with genuine concern. Sakura winced out of guilt, but he took it as a wince of pain and suddenly got down on his knees, his back facing her.

"Hop on," he muttered, his face turning a brilliant scarlet.

Sakura was in a difficult position. For thirty painful seconds she couldn't decide whether to continue lying or set him straight, but Touya saved her just in time.

"Don't piggyback my sister, brat!" he called at him over his shoulder as he walked down towards the car, a white Honda.

"Who's a brat?" Syaoran challenged back, standing up and making his hands into fists. His voice echoed through the garage and a young couple who were just leaving gave him a startled look.

Touya whirled around, brandishing his trolley of luggage like a weapon. He looked rather like a bull preparing to charge, glaring over the handle at Syaoran, who never broke his gaze (or his fighting stance).

"Ugh, you two are _idiots_!" Sakura cried, throwing her hands up in the air. She stomped over to the car and got in, slamming the door behind her, forgetting that she was supposed to be injured.

Now Syaoran was in a difficult position: continue a battle of testosterone or go be with Sakura? He sighed and shook his head, walking resignedly to the car and getting in after her. Smirking triumphantly, Touya began loading up the trunk, giving the two a brief moment alone.

Sakura was very surprised to find Syaoran next to her in the back seat. He mumbled a soft apology and looked at her, causing her heart to suddenly quicken its pace.

_What is _wrong _with me today?_ she thought. Her heart seemed to be so temperamental.

"Is he always like that?" Syaoran asked. Sakura sighed and nodded.

"He's actually nice, deep down," she said. Syaoran smirked.

"Yea, _very_ deep down," he replied. She smacked him lightly on the arm and he caught her hand in his.

Suddenly both were reminded of the trip on the yacht. Sakura felt her ears go red under Syaoran's gaze.

"Sakura," he began, leaning his face towards hers.

"W-what?" she asked, his face so close now that she could see the gold flecks in his eyes. They were beautiful, she realized suddenly. _Syaoran is beautiful_, she thought strangely.

Syaoran had no idea what he was about to say. His breath was catching in his throat from the close proximity. His eyes flicked down to her lips, which were slightly parted and very pink, and found that he had lost his voice entirely. He leaned in, suddenly desperate to close the gap between them.

Sakura closed her eyes as he began coming closer, and felt his lips barely touch hers--

"--Oi, brat!" Touya called from behind the car. Syaoran felt his heart stop.

"Y-yea?" he called, his voice coming out strangely high-pitched. Sakura had leaned back against her seat, staring straight ahead. Syaoran couldn't tell, but she was trying to take slow, deep breaths to calm herself.

"Get out here and help me with this, brat!" Touya replied.

"Fine, oh mighty jackass!" he shot back, getting out of the car, feeling extremely irritated but also relieved. What was he about to do to Sakura?

Inside the car, a strangely disappointed Sakura placed a hand over her heart and sighed. The two weeks until her father got back were going to be quite long. She had many questions to ask him about his ties with the Li family...and with Eriol.

While this heartwarming drama was playing out, Eriol and Tomoyo were sitting, completely silent, in the limo, not looking at each other. Neither of them felt particularly chatty, as the reality that they were about to live together was sinking in. Tomoyo knew that Sakura and Syaoran needed to be together because of the curse, but she couldn't understand why Eriol was following them.

She looked him over, watching as he stared out the window. Apparently he and Kaho had had a rather meaningful discussion just before he left. In spite of herself, Tomoyo desperately wanted to know what it was about, but she refrained from asking.

He turned and met her gaze, causing her heart to skip a beat in surprise. She looked away and the two remained silent the rest of the drive, Eriol wondering why she had been looking at him with such intensity.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

"I'll be right back. Make yourself at home," Tomoyo said, leaving Eriol sitting on the small cream-colored couch in her bedroom. She had to go discuss things with her mother, who apparently had not known that Eriol was coming to stay. This was going to be a rather interesting conversation.

Once alone, Eriol set about looking through some of her things, a bad habit of his. Her room was large with a queen-sized bed with a lavender satin comforter and pillows. The walls were a light cream color and beneath his feet a pale purple plush carpet bounced pleasantly. The furniture was all wood painted cream and included a desk, a TV on a large cabinet, and a small coffee table. Eriol went straight for the cabinet below the TV.

Swinging the doors open, he found a large collection of videos, and, on the bottom shelf, DVDs. All looked homemade. He picked up one of the VHS's and turned it over in his hands carefully. It was labeled "Year Five Sports Festival." Eriol shrugged and popped it into the VCR.

Sakura, aged ten, appeared on the screen smiling happily.

"Tomoyo! You don't have to videotape _everything_!" she said cheerfully, making a peace sign for the camera nonetheless. He heard a soft giggle and Tomoyo's voice answered her.

"But Sakura, I have to see you win!" she replied. Sakura blushed.

The video cut to the 100-meter dash. Eriol watched, the light of the screen reflecting off his glasses, as Sakura won easily. He then lost interest and got up to go to her walk-in closet. Behind him he could hear Sakura telling Tomoyo "better luck next time!" She had apparently gotten last place. He shook his head and entered the closet.

Inside it was divided in two. Along the wall opposite him, he saw normal clothes: uniforms, jeans, and skirts. In the center was a chest of drawers, which he quickly opened. As he had guessed, inside was her underwear, surprisingly frilly for a lesbian. As he was holding up a rather sheer pair of black lace panties to the light, he noticed the other wall. All along it were what looked like costumes.

Stuffing the underwear back in the drawer (suddenly feeling both embarrassed and turned on by it) he went to examine this other section. Some clothes looked like runway items he had seen on fashion shows on TV (Kaho loved that kind of crap). Others were pure costume and were labeled with things like "Class 1-3 Maid Cafe." Under that label was a set of rather revealing maid costumes, all frilly and lacy yet each one unique, apparently for some culture festival or something.

"Eriol?" a voice called from the main room. Abandoning the maid outfits, Eriol dashed back out to find Tomoyo removing the tape from the VCR. He found himself blushing, something he didn't usually do, at the sight of her in her loose sweatpants and tank top.

"Did you find everything to your satisfaction?" she asked jokingly, not looking at him out of sheer embarrassment. He had found her collection of Sakura videotapes!

"You're very talented," he said suddenly, the words skipping the screening process and tumbling straight out of his mouth. Tomoyo felt her cheeks burn and she remained kneeling even after she'd closed the cabinet.

"Thanks," she replied softly.

* * *

"On your marks...Get set...Go!" the announcer shouted, firing off his gun. Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo set off in the 100-meter dash. Eriol applauded them from the crowd, Kero (pretending to be a stuffed toy) sitting in his lap. Next to him, Touya cheered fiercely while Yukito attempted to keep him calm.

How did they get in this situation? Well, every summer the town of Tomoeda held a Summer Sports Festival in the Tomoeda University athletic stadium just before the schools got back from vacation. At the urging of both Touya and Yukito, the trio had decided to participate. Tomoyo and Sakura had competed in it every year. Eriol, of course, declined, unable to see why Tomoyo would want to run in the race.

Their old classmates, dressed in the Tomoeda High School gym uniforms, had been very excited to see their old friends again, pestering them constantly about their time in Hong Kong. Before Sakura had the chance to introduce Syaoran to her old group, Chiharu, Yamazaki, Naoko and Rika, the race had begun and they were called to the starting line.

He watched her carefully, eyes narrowing as everyone easily outstripped her in the first three seconds. Her face remained completely serene, and she kept running even though by five seconds it was completely hopeless. Looking in her eyes, Eriol found himself thinking: _I hope she wins_.

As Sakura ran neck and neck with Syaoran (they were competing for the pork buns Tomoyo had made) she suddenly felt the presence of a Clow Card. She looked around, careful not to slow her pace, but saw no havoc. However, people had begun cheering really loudly and Sakura saw something dark flit in the corner of her eye. She turned her head.

Tomoyo had just passed both her and Syaoran (who was looking incredibly confused). She finished in eleven seconds flat, Sakura and Syaoran finished close behind her. Eriol rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Then he saw it--the Dash card. It looked very much like a cat and sat twitching its tale as it watched a thoroughly bewildered Tomoyo accept a medal. It and Eriol made eye contact.

At that moment, Eriol sensed that Kero desperately wanted to relay this development to Sakura, and so he came down from the stands and gave him to her, on the pretense that he wanted to congratulate Tomoyo. He invited her to get a drink with him, leaving Sakura, Syaoran and Kero to discuss freely. When he looked over his shoulder they were already gone from the main track. The Dash card was gone too.

In fact, the four aforementioned entities were currently chasing one another in the parking lot, where no one (luckily) seemed to be. The Dash card was circling, hopping from car to car as Sakura used Jump to chase after it. Syaoran and Kero were discussing what to do.

"She is definitely never gonna catch it this way," Syaoran said. Kero nodded in agreement.

"Sakura," he called, transforming into his true form, "Get Woody and Windy to approach it from two sides, and you and I will get it from the other two, ok?"

"Ok!" she called back, pulling the cards out of their little pouch, "Windy, Woody! Help me trap the Dash card!"

Windy blew in from the west, Dash dodging its little tendrils only to come face to face with a very large, Kero. It whipped to the right to find a triumphant-looking Sakura waiting, and then jumped straight up as quickly as it could. Unfortunately for the Dash, Woody had already started sprouting a long vine, which curled around its foot. One strike with the wand and Sakura captured it.

"Phew," she said softly.

* * *

"Where were you guys?" Tomoyo asked slyly as the two of them came back to the track, slightly out of breath from the chase.

"Oh come now, Tomoyo, I don't want to hear about those kinds of shenanigans," Eriol said before Sakura and Syaoran could reply. Tomoyo giggled and the other two blushed beet red.

"That's weird, your plushy looks a little sweaty," Tomoyo remarked, pointing at Kero, who was indeed rather sweaty. Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other, struggling to come up with an explanation.

"That's kinky," Eriol muttered. Syaoran gaped as Tomoyo burst out laughing. Sakura's eyes narrowed. Eriol was being a little too helpful. It was almost as if he knew about the cards...

"Anyway, you made it just in time to see Touya in the obstacle race," Tomoyo said happily, her suspicions forgotten. The group sat down in the stands together, Sakura shooting Eriol glances every now and then, much to Syaoran's dismay.

"On your marks...Get set...Go!" he called, firing the gun.

Then there was another bang.

And another. Everyone, including the racers, had stopped to stare at the announcer, who looked confused, his gun was not the one causing it..

Shots were flying all over the place in a matter of seconds as pandemonium ensued, people suspecting a terrorist attack.

"Sakura!" Kero hissed while Eriol ushered Tomoyo away. Tomoyo was rather confused as to why Eriol seemed so concerned about her lately. And also why he seemed almost charming.

"Kero, what should I do?" she asked in a whisper. The stadium was clearing around them. Several people had been hit by the shot card already (though none were seriously injured, thankfully).

"Nobody's looking--use a card!" Syaoran answered.

As Sakura was summoning her staff, the Shot set its sights on Tomoyo, who was resisting Eriol's efforts to get her to safety.

"But Sakura and Syaoran are still there," she protested. Eriol ignored her, sensing the oncoming bullet.

Without thinking, he shielded her with his body, earning a wide-eyed look of fear from the dark-haired girl.

"Time! Halt everything!" Sakura shouted. The stadium froze. Sakura, Syaoran and Kero began looking around for the source of the shots.

There, standing on one of the light poles, was a small girl with spiky hair that rained down her back. The Shot Card.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura yelled, and it was sucked inside. She sighed with relief, wiping the sweat off her brow.

"Sakura..." Syaoran said, tugging on her sleeve.

"What?" she asked, ready to return the Time card. Keeping Time halted was very draining.

"Look," he said, pointing below them.

Eriol was shielding Tomoyo from a shot, but around him was a glowing shield.

"Is that a Clow Card?" Sakura asked Kero. He nodded.

"Though I don't see why it would protect him in particular..." he mumbled.

Sakura walked over, grabbing the bullet (it was hanging in midair) and sealing the card away. Finally, she let the Time card go.

Eriol was quite relieved when the Time card came undone, because holding his position over Tomoyo (he had her pressed against a wall) was physically straining and strangely erotic. His face felt hot as she at last blinked again, confused by their proximity. He jumped away immediately.

The sports festival called off, the group decided to head back home, each one lost in thought.

Syaoran was still thinking about his almost-kiss with Sakura in the car.

Kero was triumphantly counting up their cards--only two left to find.

Eriol was wondering why he found Tomoyo so attractive all of a sudden.

Tomoyo was wondering if Eriol found her attractive or something.

Sakura, last but not least, was eyeing Eriol suspiciously. He was definitely hiding something.

DM: Whew! So that's all for now! Can anyone guess which two cards are left? If you can, I'll grant you one request!

Another thing: I recently started a story on under the name "Very Serious." Please go to my profile for more info, especially if you like yaoi.

Anyway, I'm sorry to inform you guys, but I'm leaving for England today and won't be back until the 16. So, no updates for a while. I sincerely apologize. Please review--it makes my life! Next Chapter: Breaking the Curse.


	24. Breaking the Curse

DM: Well, I'm back after my long vacation! Thanks so much you guys for all your reviews!

Disclaimer: Same old, same old. The song Sakura's singing is "Faith" by George Michael. Shut up. I love him.

**Curses!**

**Finale**

**Part Two**

**Breaking the Curse**

When Syaoran awoke, he didn't know where he was. The pale blue walls, the downright plain curtains—all of it looked alien to him. He shut his eyes again.

He became aware of what had woken him up: the smell of pancakes and a light singing coming from below him. Sakura.

"Before this river becomes an ocean," she sang, "Before you throw my heart back on the flo-or!" Her voice grew louder and he sat up, remembering now where he was.

He was living at Sakura's house, because they couldn't stay in Hong Kong much longer without arousing suspicion. Plus, they needed to speak with Sakura's dad, who would be arriving home soon.

Syaoran sighed as Sakura reached the chorus. They would start school for the fall semester on Monday. It was Saturday now, and he was quite hungry.

Not bothering to get dressed, he plodded down the stairs softly, not wishing to disturb her. He wore his usual night clothes: boxers and a tee shirt.

"I've got to have faith, faith, faith!" she finished with a flourish. There was the sound of a soft splatter followed by an "oops."

Syaoran smiled as he turned into the kitchen. She'd probably done a dramatic flourish and spilled stuff again.

Sure enough, when he came in she was on her knees picking up a poor little pancake off the floor. She stood up quickly as soon as she saw him.

"Good morning, Syaoran!" she said happily, her hair bouncing around her face at the sudden movement. Syaoran blinked.

Maybe it was the sunlight coming from the kitchen window to her left.

No, that wasn't it. It was her pink lacey apron.

No. Syaoran was puzzled, wondering why Sakura looked so beautiful that morning, and, more importantly, why his heart was thumping so hard.

"Syaoran?" she asked. He stared at her lips as they moved and he realized it.

_I love this girl_, he thought, _I love her more than anything in the world_.

"Syaoran! If you don't like pancakes, just freaking say so!" she huffed, turning back to her flipping. She had already accumulated a nice stack on the plate next to the stove.

"Sakura—" he began, but then stopped himself. He'd just had the biggest epiphany of his life. He took a step closer, until he was right behind her.

He moved his arms into a circle around her and was about to hug her when—

"Hey Monster, what's for breakfast? Is it edible?" came the drawl of Touya from the door.

Sakura spun around wildly, knocking Syaoran back onto the floor with her spatula.

"Big Brother, you suck! No pancakes for you!" she exclaimed. Then she looked over her left shoulder at Syaoran on the floor.

"Oh? What are you doing down there?" she asked. Syaoran winced.

_Having a heart attack_, he thought, but replied instead: "Nothing."

"Idiot," Touya snorted quietly.

Syaoran made sure to step on his foot as he left the room.

Meanwhile, across Tomoeda, Eriol was about to have an epiphany of his own as he inhaled deeply from his cigarette. He rarely smoked—only when he really needed to sort his thoughts out.

The sun was only just coming over the horizon, leaving a bloody stain on the clouds in its wake. He watched it, listening calmly to the birds that were already up and about.

He leaned back into his chair and blew smoke rings out of his mouth, glancing around the Daidouji veranda and noting with pleasure that he was alone. Tomoyo was not awake yet and he'd decided to do some serious thinking.

When he saw Kaho last it was at his house the day before he'd come to Japan.

"I loved you," she'd said. He had only nodded. She had then turned away and walked off.

"Kaho!" he called at her retreating back. She stopped but did not turn.

"Good luck in England!" he said. She turned and smiled at him over her shoulder.

Tapping ash in the little dish, Eriol mused over this "goodbye." What-ifs and what-have-yous aside, it brought him very little sadness. In fact, he felt rather at peace about the way things had finished with Kaho.

So why did he find it so hard to focus? What was this sense of foreboding? He sighed. It was difficult to look at his friends anymore. All of them kept secrets from the others—could it even be called friendship?

In the end, he would have to betray Syaoran and Sakura. He wondered, smiling, if Tomoyo would remain oblivious of it all. The only thing the four shared was the curse.

Eriol brought the cigarette back to his lips, only to realize that it had gone out. This was strangely shocking to him and he pulled out his lighter in dismay.

Click, click, click, but still no light. Yet the fluid was nearly full.

He stepped back inside the house and tried to turn a light on, but the switch seemed dead. Yet, down the hall, Tomoyo turned the light on quite easily in her own room.

Eriol put a hand over his heart and concentrated, trying to remember which cards Sakura had left to capture.

_Oh, that's right. Those two, _he thought, opening his eyes and sighing sadly.

"But if I have this one, who has the other?" he asked, addressing the air.

With a sinking feeling, he realized who it was.

* * *

"Tomoyo!" Sakura called. She and Syaoran were already waiting at the mailbox as Tomoyo and Eriol walked up.

The group was meeting at two o'clock for a tour around Tomoeda, starting with some tea with the girls' old school friends, who were meeting them at the café. The cherry trees had long since turned their summer green. Sakura eyed them wistfully; she'd missed the best part of a Japanese spring.

"Hello, Sakura," Tomoyo replied, "Hello Li."

Sakura never asked but always felt a little strange hearing Tomoyo address Syaoran as "Li." Everyone said their greetings and the three of them began walking, but she lagged behind a little, staring at Eriol.

Everything about him aroused more suspicion in her, but what bothered her most was that Tomoyo called him by his first name. She couldn't see a reason for that since the two seemed to hate each other.

"Something wrong?" Syaoran asked, his voice snapping her out of her musings.

Eriol and Tomoyo had stopped too, looking at her curiously. Syaoran's hand was on her shoulder and for a minute it was the warmest place on her body.

"Yea, I'm fine," she replied, grinning at him. She turned away quickly and missed the blush that had spread across his nose. Tomoyo and Eriol caught it; however, and shared a smile.

"Hey Sakura!" a voice called. Sakura looked up to see Chiharu, her hair in her customary pigtails, standing and waving at them, dressed in a pale orange sundress. Seated on a large table on the terrace were Rika, Naoko and Yamazaki.

"Hey guys!" she replied, feeling cheerful and energetic at the sight of her friends. She was glad she had worn her pink polo shirt and white skirt, because Rika was also wearing a dress (a light green one) and Naoko was in a denim skirt and a tank top.

Tomoyo, who was impeccably dressed as usual in her yellow skirt and white tank, scanned her video camera over the group happily. Yamazaki smiled and waved at the familiar lens, dressed in his typical shorts and tee shirt. Eriol and Syaoran had chosen jeans and polo shirts, putting them clearly out of place, she noted sadly.

"This is Li Syaoran," she said, gesturing to her left, "And that's Hiiragizawa Eriol. They're exchange students from China!"

"I'm Chiharu, and this is Takashi—don't believe anything he says!" Chiharu told the two newcomers. Sakura and Tomoyo laughed. The boy in question, who had small eyes and short, dark hair, only shrugged.

"That's Naoko," Tomoyo continued, pointing at the shorthaired girl with glasses, "And that's Rika."

Rika stood up and shook their hands; she was always very mature and polite. She had short, dark hair that curled around her face delicately and both Eriol and Syaoran blushed at the sight of her. Tomoyo felt her eyebrow twitch for no reason.

The group sat down and ordered some tea and ice cream. Sakura got strawberry, and Syaoran got chocolate. Why does that matter? Well, Sakura _also_ liked chocolate.

"Hey, Syaoran, let me have some of your ice cream," Sakura said, already reaching with her spoon.

"What the—no! No, no, no!" he said in reply, pulling the bowl away from her, "My choco is mine!"

Syaoran was being childish. However, Sakura is easily baited.

"But Syaoran, it's just a bite—please?" she asked, making puppy eyes. He turned away.

"No! I love chocolate more than anything!" he said without thinking. Suddenly he felt that dropping feeling in his stomach that meant he'd told a lie.

He fell into a daze, realizing that everything had taken on a new meaning since that morning's mind-blowing discovery. He gently returned the bowl to its position just as Sakura was making a furious swipe with her spoon.

Needless to say, she aimed poorly and hit the edge of the bowl, flipping it sideways and effectively drenching herself in a sticky, chocolate, lactic mess.

"Syaoran! Look what you made me do!" she cried angrily. She'd been wearing a cute pink sundress that now had a huge brown splotch on the chest. Her hands balled into fists in anger.

"I'm sorry!" Syaoran yelped, grabbing some napkins and attempting to wipe it off, only to aggravate her more. The feeling of his hand on her chest was giving her uncomfortable butterflies. She swatted his hand away.

"Ugh, forget it," she said. She was still feeling angry, but she decided to let it drop. Syaoran frowned and went back to eating.

The rest of the group was laughing quite hysterically at the situation, much to his dismay.

It wasn't long until the gathering was over (small talk can only last so long) and everyone got ready to leave.

The tour was cancelled due to the fact that Sakura had to change clothes. It would have to wait until the next day. She and Syaoran hadn't said a word to one another for the duration of the tea, and Sakura sighed out of sudden loneliness.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the others, Tomoyo hopped ahead.

"That was great, you two!" she exclaimed. Our heroes shot her a puzzled look.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked. Tomoyo sighed.

"You guys got mad and switched bodies, but nobody realized it! You were very good at being the other—it looked like a continuous conversation!" she said, her eyes going a little dream-like.

"Yea, actually, that was pretty good," Eriol added. Sakura and Syaoran stared at them blankly.

"We didn't," Syaoran said softly.

"What's that?" Eriol asked, leaning toward him.

"We didn't switch!" Syaoran repeated, note of panic in his voice.

"What?" Eriol asked, "That's absurd." Sakura shot him a suspicious look and he decided to keep quiet. Any more and he'd give himself away.

"You must have done something to break the curse!" Tomoyo said happily. Eriol smiled and nodded.

"Hm. I wonder what…" Syaoran said, rubbing his chin and trying to remember what had changed that day.

_Oh God_, he thought. He knew what it was. But he'd be damned if he said it now.

"Eriol, can I speak with you a minute?" Sakura asked. Eriol nodded, bracing himself, and the two walked a small distance away, leaving Syaoran and Tomoyo alone.

"I think _I_ know what broke the curse," Tomoyo said, a teasing note more than a little apparent in her voice. Syaoran gulped.

"Maybe you do," he said, trying to keep calm. They were both staring at Sakura.

"Tell her soon, ok?" Tomoyo said, "She seems stressed out lately and I think it'd make her happy."

If Syaoran had known the pain it caused Tomoyo to say that, he wouldn't have said, "She won't feel the same way." But he did.

And then got elbowed in the stomach.

"Just give it a shot," she said in a flat tone, her expression of irritation frightening Syaoran into submission. He'd always thought she was nice and had never seen her like this.

A few yards away, Eriol was thinking the same thing about Sakura, who was glaring at him with animosity she usually saved for Syaoran.

"You know something about the curse that we don't know," she said softly. He shook his head. Sakura sighed in irritation.

"Then why is it absurd that the curse got broken?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Eriol shrugged.

"I thought you guys would have to, like, say you loved each other or something," he said, "That would be funny."

Sakura was slightly relieved by this answer, but only slightly. She was still almost sure that he was Clow's descendant and decided to try and provoke him a little bit.

"How do you know we haven't?" she asked, smirking. Eriol paled.

"I know who you are," Sakura said flatly. Eriol swallowed loudly.

"And I know who _you_ are," he replied, smiling feebly, "Kinomoto Sakura!" Sakura was not amused.

"Anyway," he said, walking back towards Tomoyo and Syaoran, "Any reason why your friends didn't tell us their last names?"

Sakura realized that the conversation was now over and sighed. But now she was sure. Eriol knew everything.

It was in a state of unease that everyone returned to their homes that afternoon.

Sakura, now that she could be certain of Eriol's true identity, struggled to formulate a plan to get him to answer all her questions. Why had he been so secretive? Why hadn't he helped them with the Clow Cards? Or had he been helping them all along? What was wrong with the curse?

Then she hit upon a question Eriol could _not_ answer. Did she and Syaoran love each other?

She slapped herself a little and shook her head. She wasn't sure about her own feelings, but Syaoran definitely felt nothing for her like that.

However, she was quite wrong and failed to notice that Syaoran had been staring at her for a while now. They'd broken away from Tomoyo and Eriol and were almost at the Kinomoto residence. He knew what he had to do, now that he was sure of how he felt.

_But how?_ He asked himself, sighing at the hopelessness of his situation.

When they reached the house, Sakura was shocked to find not Touya but her father answering the door.

"Dad!" she said happily, jumping into his outstretched arms.

As father and daughter hugged, Syaoran examined the man who'd befriended his father. Tall with auburn hair and brown eyes, he wore glasses and a big smile as he took Syaoran's hand.

"I'm Fujitaka, nice to meet you," he said, shaking Syaoran's hand enthusiastically, "Please come inside—we have so much to talk about."

* * *

Eriol and Tomoyo had walked back to her house in complete silence. Tomoyo was still fuming over Syaoran's indecisiveness, and Eriol was wondering desperately how to get Sakura off his trail.

_I need to buy more time_, he thought, frantic.

He didn't even notice when they got home and Tomoyo said she was going to take a shower. After a few moments, he walked into her room and opened up her video cabinet.

The water started running when he at last found the video he wanted.

"_Parent's day, Year five,_" he read aloud. Without hesitation, he popped it into the VCR.

The first thing he saw was Sakura, waving, then Tomoyo's mom (whom he'd charmed easily). Then the camera landed on a tall man with auburn hair and glasses. His arm was around Sakura and he was talking with Tomoyo's mother (who didn't seem pleased).

"That's him," he whispered, enthralled.

He didn't hear the sound of the water fade, he was too entranced by the way Fujitaka spoke—his other half.

"Eriol? What are you doing in here?" he heard from over his shoulder. He hesitated a moment before turning.

There, standing on the carpet, was Tomoyo, wrapped in a towel and thoroughly wet. She took his breath away and he watched, with as much interest as he'd previously given the video, water drip down the ringlets of her hair onto her arms and back.

He felt his mouth twitch, as if to form words, but had no idea what those would be.

DM: Cliffhangers all around! Yay! Please review guys—it means so much to me! Anyway, to answer the question of which two cards are left, it's the next chapter's title!

Next chapter: Light and Dark.


	25. Light and Dark

DM: I'm sorry, I know it's been a long time! Please don't hate me. College is harder than it looks.

Recap: Eriol and Tomoyo are at a standstill after she emerges from the shower to find him watching tapes of Sakura's dad. Fujitaka at last comes home and enters in conversation with his daughter and Syaoran.

Disclaimer: Same as always. Moshisan is rather busy at the moment, so this is unbeta'd. Apologies.

**Curses!**

**Chapter Twenty-five**

**Light and Dark**

Tomoyo stared back at Eriol with equal intensity, unsure of the meaning behind his gaze.

"W-what?" she stammered, feeling a mixture of fear and exhilaration. Eriol took a step forward. Her heart jumped in her chest.

"Why are you staring at me? Do I still have shampoo in my hair?" she babbled. Eriol continued to draw closer, and Tomoyo's voice caught in her throat.

She shut her eyes. This was the end, she was sure of it. Eriol closed the distance between them.

The kiss that came was so gentle, so unassuming, that Tomoyo couldn't be sure it had actually happened. She'd felt a light touch on her cheek, and that was the end of it.

Eyes still closed, Tomoyo heard Eriol step away from her. She brought a hand to her tingling cheek and opened her eyes.

Eriol was staring at the floor with wide eyes, one hand buried in his hair. She watched in fascination as he pulled a small lock gently. This seemed to convince him of something, and he promptly left the room.

_What just happened?_

* * *

"I'll leave you two alone then," Syaoran called over his shoulder as he shut the door behind him.. They probably didn't hear him, anyway: they were having a deep discussion of which he couldn't possibly be a part.

He scratched his head, unsure of where to go as he stood on the sidewalk. He'd never been out in Tomoeda _alone_ before. The town was quaint, and the house nothing like the mansion in which he'd been brought up, but he liked it. Maybe because Sakura came from there, it held a special charm.

After looking both ways for a few moments, he decided to head to Tomoyo's house. In fact, he wanted to ask Eriol about something Sakura's dad had said. Now that he thought about it, a lot of what he'd said seemed strange…

"_Sakura," Fujitaka said after they had exchanged greetings, "I have something important I must tell you." He seemed very serious, and Sakura sat down on the couch without a word._

_Fujitaka pulled up a chair to the coffee table, and Syaoran, sensing that his presence was extraneous, went to go make some tea._

"_I'm listening, Dad," she said, sitting up straight. Syaoran was very proud of her. She'd matured a lot since they'd first met._

"_Sakura, a few days before you left on that school trip, I had a very strange dream," he began, "A young man about your age, whose face I could not see, came and spoke to me. He told me that you would stay in Hong Kong, and that you would be in the care of the family of an old friend of mine."_

_He paused to let this sink in, but Sakura showed no sign of shock. Her brow furrowed, and it seemed to Syaoran that she knew exactly who this dream-visitor was. Even if he and her father didn't._

"_He told me that I should go on a trip to Egypt, to 'reconnect with myself.' I told him I didn't know what he meant, but now that I've gone—" his eyes seemed to see far away, "I feel as though I helped you somehow."_

_Again, Sakura did not give anything away. She was tapping her chin thoughtfully. A habit, he noted with pleasure, that she'd picked up from him._

_Fujitaka seemed undeterred by his daughter's reaction and so continued, "He said that my presence would give you the power to quickly accomplish what you needed to do. I slept for three days after visiting the sphinx, and no one knew why, so I assume this was true," he looked at her over his glasses and Syaoran realized that he wanted confirmation._

_Sakura gave a quick nod, eager for him to continue. So it was Fujitaka's magic that had allowed them to spend a mere five minutes of real time in Clow Land. It was also this dream that made it so easy for Sakura to transfer schools._

"_The boy seemed so sure of himself that I obeyed. He seemed almost familiar, but in the way that," he paused again, evidently wondering if he should finish, "The way that my reflection is familiar."_

_This time Sakura seemed a little surprised. It was as if he'd thrown off her calculations. Syaoran accidentally caused the tea cup he was pouring to overflow. He gave a small yelp of pain._

_The two Kinomoto's shot him a look. Feeling embarrassed, Syaoran decided to leave. They didn't seem to want tea anyway…_

So here he was, walking over to the Daidouji household. Eriol was standing on the veranda, pinching his cheeks with both hands.

Syaoran decided not to comment on the odd behavior and pretended that everything was normal.

"Hey, Eriol," he called. There were a few moments before the blue-haired boy looked at him.

"Oh, hello," he said absently. He seemed very confused, and Syaoran was now growing concerned. Still, with Eriol, you had to approach the subject from a distance.

"You know, Sakura's talking with her Dad about the most interesting thing," he said, deciding to just make something up and direct the conversation towards Eriol's strange mood.

"Oh, about the Clow Cards?" Eriol asked, peering oddly at Syaoran.

Syaoran gasped and Eriol seemed to realize his mistake. But too late. Syaoran now knew that Eriol knew all about the Clow Cards.

Eriol cursed himself for allowing a simple kiss to reduce him to idiocy.

* * *

As soon as Syaoran left, Fujitaka seemed more at ease. He stared at the coffee table, wondering how he should phrase his next piece of information.

Sakura waited patiently. She didn't want to interrupt his train of thought.

At last he came to a conclusion of sorts and spoke again, "He also said that I should have you by my side by the time I returned from Egypt, because something important is going to happen…between me and him." He sat back in the chair and looked for a reaction.

Sakura's face was impassive. She'd remembered a brief conversation she'd had with Syaoran when they'd first met. He'd told her that he had a friend who was somehow related to her father. She was getting surer by the minute that Eriol was behind all of this.

"Did he say what?" she asked, looking her father directly in the eye.

She could have imagined it, but he seemed to wince.

"No. In fact, he didn't know, he confessed to me," Fujitaka replied, smiling a little, "He seemed unsure of himself at that point, and almost frightened."

Sakura's head snapped to attention. "Could you see him?" she asked sharply. Her father winced again. This time she was sure she had seen it. A tingling sensation began creeping its way up her legs. She watched him carefully as he replied, worried.

"Oh, I dunno. I just felt like he was scared. I still couldn't see his face. You, know, you're taking this rather—" he cringed, a hand clutching his heart, as a pale glow filled the room. The tingling sensation peaked and Sakura realized what it was, just as her father slumped to the floor.

"A Clow Card!" she cried, standing up. The glow faded. Kero came flying down the stairs, having also sensed the magic.

"Sakura," he shouted as light filled the room, more brightly than before, "It's the Light Card!"

"Light?" she asked under her breath, puzzled, "How do I capture that?"

Releasing the seal, she raised her staff over her father's prone body.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" she yelled, hoping it would work.

Slowly, a woman's form rose from Fujitaka. She was dressed in a long white gown and a crown. She smiled fondly at Sakura, and, for a moment, she thought she'd done it. However, the woman shook her head.

"You must find the other half," she said, "And bring them together to make a whole!"

Sakura's face fell as the woman disappeared. Kero flew up to her shoulder and patted her head comfortingly.

"The other half of Light is Dark," he whispered, "Though it's strange that she used "the" and not "my"…"

Fujitaka groaned and Kero dashed under a sofa cushion. Sakura knelt down and heaved her father onto the couch.

"I know where the other half is," she said, determined to find him at all costs.

* * *

Yukito and Touya were walking calmly to the Kinomoto household. They'd had a busy day working, as usual, and wanted to unwind. Touya glanced at Yukito, who was eyeing a sweet shop with a glint in his eye, and sighed.

"You know, Yuki," he began, but was interrupted as someone rushed by in a blur. He whipped around and saw that it was Sakura. How he knew, he couldn't be sure; she was moving so fast she left a small sonic boom behind her. However, the aura was clearly hers.

"What is it, Touya?" Yukito asked, following Touya's gaze and sensing nothing amiss. Touya shook his head.

"Do you mind if we take a quick detour?" he asked, already following after his sister.

"Fine, fine," Yukito said, smiling, "But can I have some ice cream to eat on the way?"

* * *

Thanks to the Dash Card, Sakura arrived on Tomoyo's doorstep in time to see Eriol and Syaoran at a standstill. Both were still in shock from the huge secret that had just been revealed.

"Eriol!" Sakura shouted, panting a little. Syaoran and Eriol's heads snapped towards her in unison. "My father needs you!"

Eriol raised an eyebrow, but had no time to reply; she grabbed him by the arm and began dragging him back to her house.

"Sakura? What are you doing?" Syaoran exclaimed, running after her. There were people watching them, preventing her from using her Clow Cards.

"My father is ill," she said through gritted teeth, "And Eriol has to help him."

Eriol at last awoke from his daze and pulled the other two into a small alleyway. Sakura glared at him as he removed a key from his pocket.

"We'll get there faster if we use this," he whispered, and for a second Sakura was sure that she'd met Eriol before. Before coming to Hong Kong, before capturing the Clow Cards, before everything.

Before she could say anything, the three of them were outside her house. Eriol walked calmly up the front porch to the door.

Sakura shook her head to clear it and dashed up behind him. Syaoran simply stared as the two entered the house, before following them in.

* * *

Tomoyo sat on the veranda, staring out over the grounds of the estate. The tops of the trees were a fiery red, but the foliage underneath was still green. The air smelled of autumn.

_He left after that_, she thought, strange feeling welling up in her chest.

She was rather confused as to what had actually happened. Eriol hadn't been lewd or strange or anything; in fact, she found the whole thing rather sweet. Though she'd rather die before confessing it.

A pair of figures passed through the gate and walked up the paved path to where she was sitting. As they grew closer, she could see that it was Touya and Yukito. Strange. Her brow furrowed as she wondered what they were doing at her house. She rose to meet them.

"Is Sakura here?" Touya called before reaching Tomoyo. Her aura had been close by but had vanished. He knew already that he'd missed her.

"No, she's not…" Tomoyo replied, puzzled. She met them in the small paved area just in front of the veranda.

"She probably went back to your house," Yukito said suddenly. Both Touya and Tomoyo stared at him, utterly confused.

"How do you know that?" Touya asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. Yukito shrugged.

"I just do."

* * *

Eriol sat down beside a now awake Fujitaka. Both now appeared to be in pain. Eriol was sweating, and Sakura's father was very pale. Syaoran swallowed, worried about the outcome.

"You're sure there's a card in there?" he asked, glancing worriedly at the two on the couch. He had yet to tell Sakura that Eriol knew a thing about the Clow Cards.

Sakura nodded and Kero blew a raspberry in his direction. She stood firmly, dangling the key in front of her.

"Guys," she said softly, "This is Kero. What you're about to see may seem weird, but I promise I will explain everything later, ok?"

She released the seal and the wand extended in front of her.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Cards!" she yelled, striking the air between the two men. Fujitaka's eyes rolled into the back of his head and Eriol was clearly struggling to remain conscious as two women now, one in white and one in black, rose before her.

"Thank you," they said softly as they swirled into their card forms.

Sakura caught them happily. Syaoran ran to her side and embraced her. She hugged him back tightly.

Fujitaka lay on the couch, now sleeping peacefully. Kero did a little jig in the air.

Unnoticed by anyone, Eriol managed to slip out the front door, summoning his key as he went.

Syaoran pulled back and gazed into Sakura's eyes. Suddenly she realized just how very close they were. Her heart began to race as his arms tightened their grip around her waist.

"Sakura," he said softly, "I've been meaning to tell you…." Her eyes grew wide and her breath caught in her throat as she waited for him to finish.

"I love you," he whispered, leaning in and kissing her on the lips.

* * *

"Here we are," the limo driver said as they pulled up in front of the Kinomoto house. Touya, Yukito and Tomoyo, thanked him and hopped out just as Eriol was coming out.

"Eriol, what are you doing here?" Tomoyo asked, raising an eyebrow.

He didn't respond. Something in his hand had begun to grow to a long staff.

"What the?" Touya yelled next to her. She tore her gaze away from Eriol and looked to see Yukito glowing, rising in the air.

"What's going on?" she whispered, her eyes full of fear.

"It has begun," Eriol replied, smiling.

DM: Woo cliffie! Hopefully I'll be able to update this again soon. Sorry again about the lateness. Please review and I can promise it in three weeks! Peace! Next Chapter: Battle


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